


Thing

by paigeafterpaige



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 14:42:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 42,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15512085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paigeafterpaige/pseuds/paigeafterpaige
Summary: "So, I did a thing," Minhyuk says. "I fell in love."And so begins Minhyuk’s pursuit of the cute freshman whose ass he might have grabbed in front of everyone on their first meeting. The freshman whose new friend Minhyuk handpicked for him and who does his best to keep Minhyuk away. The freshman whose childhood friend is Minhyuk’s best friend and who promises imminent danger to Minhyuk’s life if he so much as looks at the boy wrong.Minhyuk’s always up for a challenge.





	Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to this 40K story where pretty much nothing happens, but if you're into fluff and Joohyuk and falling in love, please go ahead and read this. The title is possibly the least creative one ever, but Thing was my working title for the fic and it stuck but I might still change it if I can come up with something better.  
> If anyone’s read my Kihyuk fic [Compass](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13974603) you might notice some similarities between that one and this. Compass was supposed to be Joohyuk, but for some reason I changed it to Kihyuk. But I couldn’t give up on the Joohyuk because they’re my ship, so here it is, the bigger and better Joohyuk version. The fics are completely unrelated though, except for the fact they started with the same idea.

Minhyuk writes his name in neat letters on the whiteboard at the front of the room, then turns back around to look out over the rows of freshmen before him. He brushes a stray strand of his blond hair out of his face and lets his lips stretch into an easy smile as he introduces himself: "My name is Lee Minhyuk and I'll be your favorite senior for the rest of your university life." Getting no reaction from the new students he raises his hands over his head to clap for himself, showing them to do the same. He spots a few eye rolls, but he gets his applause. Satisfied, he smiles wider, eyes momentarily meeting those of a boy sitting in the middle row, before said boy looks away.

"I'm a second-year student so you can come to me with any and all questions you have about school and studying… and of course any questions related to where the best parties are. You'll probably see most of me during this orientation week, but don't be shy to come talk to me after it too. Of course, you can ask other seniors if you run into them, but I suggest you keep away from Yoo Kihyun. I swear he can smell people who have not done their homework or studied for exams." Minhyuk puts his hand out by his side at roughly elbow height. "Tiny guy with red hair, about this height."

Most of the students nod obediently. However, a boy with ordinary black hair but an unexpectedly low voice speaks up from where he's sitting in the front row, "Are we not here to study?"

Minhyuk dramatically slaps a hand over his heart. "Do we have a serious student in our group? What's your name?"

"Im Changkyun."

"Well, Changkyun, from now on you're I.M," Minhyuk says, nodding to himself. "Liven up a bit I.M! Embrace your cool, new nickname like you're gonna enjoy your new life at this school. If you don't promise I'll see you at the freshman party on Friday night, I'm gonna move you to Kihyun's group and I don't think you want that, do you?"

"I don't think I would mind," the boy answers, voice serious and face blank.

Minhyuk blinks at him. How could anyone ever prefer boring, bookish Kihyun over fabulous Minhyuk? At a loss for words — a rare occurrence — he looks out over the heads of students again, most of whom pay him no mind, but again he catches the eye of that boy in the middle of the room. Like earlier, the boy averts his eyes, looking down at his hands and pulling at the ends of the sleeves of his pink hoodie.

Minhyuk looks away from him so he can get back on track. He holds his arms out wide at his sides as he addresses the whole group, "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and everything in between! It looks like we have a lost sheep in our midst. Won't you all help him find his way back to the right path?" He sweeps his eyes over the students in search of a willing tribute. When he meets the eyes of that same boy yet again, he's not even surprised, having pretty much expected it. Also expected is the way the boy immediately tears his eyes away from Minhyuk the moment he notices him looking. Intrigued, Minhyuk keeps looking. The boy's hair is brown, lighter at the tips and shorter on the sides, and ears pink, matching his hoodie. Minhyuk points a slender finger at him and demands to know, partly out of personal interest, "You, sir! What is your name?"

The boy raises his head slowly, the red of his ears spreading to his cheeks when he sees Minhyuk pointing at him. "Lee Jooheon."

"This is your lucky day, Jooheon!" The boy gives him a look that's something in between embarrassed, shy and weirded out, but Minhyuk ignores it and carries on, "From today on, you have a new best friend and his name is I.M. You shall steer him back onto the right path."

Minhyuk motions for the boy to come up to the front row and after some urging he reluctantly does, all while looking thoroughly uncomfortable. Minhyuk almost takes pity on him and sends him back to his seat, but the boy is already here now and it would be such a shame. Minhyuk clears his throat and gestures between Changkyun and Jooheon. "Boys, embrace!" He looks between the boys expectantly, both of whom just stare blankly back at him, like most of the students in the room. He waves his hands more urgently at them, "Go on, hug."

"Why should we hug?" Changkyun asks, staring defiantly at Minhyuk, then at Jooheon who hovers near his seat and quickly nods in agreement, appearing equally as unwilling to comply with his request.

Minhyuk lets out an exaggerated sigh. "Because you're best friends. You need to hug each other to seal the deal."

When neither boy makes a move to hug the other, Minhyuk steps closer to Jooheon. He didn't think he would have to demonstrate something as easy as a hug. Oh well. He looks up at the boy and sucks in a breath; if he thought he looked good from a distance, it's nothing compared to how good he looks from up close. His eyes, while small, are the most beautiful pair of eyes he's ever seen, even as they refuse to meet Minhyuk's own, choosing instead to nervously flicker about his face and the room. The boy's pink, pouty lips are Minhyuk's definition of kissable, made even more so by the tongue that comes out to wet them and give them a sheen, as if aware Minhyuk's looking.

The boy is about his own height, but not as slender; his neck is thick and Minhyuk wants to sink his teeth in it to see if it tastes as delicious as it looks. He slides his gaze further down the boy's body, noting the broadness of his shoulders and thickness of his thighs, and damn, if he's not a fine specimen of the human male—

He realizes he's been staring when the boy awkwardly clears his throat and he snaps his eyes back up to his face. The boy looks embarrassed and lost, and Minhyuk wants to coo over his red ears but then the boy does something with his mouth, making his dimples pop. When he thought it couldn't get any better, the boy pulls the dimple card and turns from hot into an adorable cutie with squishy cheeks and Minhyuk can't deal. He frantically searches his mind for the reason he's standing in front of the boy in the first place. When he remembers, he doesn't waste another second before pulling him into a hug.

The boy tenses up in his arms, standing straight as a ruler and stiff as a board. The small part of Minhyuk's brain that he usually doesn't listen too closely to, is yelling at him to let go. As usual, Minhyuk ignores it. The boy is the perfect size for hugs: the perfect height and perfect thickness. He fits right into Minhyuk's ams like he was created for this purpose to Minhyuk's specifications. His hoodie is soft under Minhyuk's hands, and under it, his strong back leads down to a well-shaped bottom—

The boy jerks in his arms, awkwardly squirming in an attempt to get away from Minhyuk's hand on his behind without pressing his front to Minhyuk's crotch. Minhyuk lets him go before he breaks his back or sprains anything, a tad flustered at his own actions. He really should start listening to his brain more, to avoid these kinds of unfortunate situations, not that he often gropes strangers in public or anything. (It's only happened once or twice before. He likes butts, okay? He can't help it.) He gets a brief look at the tomato-colored cheeks of the boy before he runs back to his seat with his head bent, stumbling into a couple of desks in his hurry.

Minhyuk returns to his place at the front of the room, willing his own face back into a neutral expression and shade while he shakes the lingering warmth of the boy off his hand. "See, that wasn't so hard, right?" he says, turning around to address the students again and hoping that his voice doesn't shake, doesn't let on how that mere hug made him feel.

 

"This building here is the library, but I like to refer to it as my second bedroom," Minhyuk says as he leads the first-years into the big, daunting building. "I'd show you all the best places for naps, but I don't want them stolen from me so you'll have to find them yourselves." He leads the group past the study tables and computers and some dusty shelves, then steers them all back outside again and out of the stuffy air of knowledge.

"The campus has two cafeterias. This cafeteria over here serves Korean food," Minhyuk says as he leads his students into the building by the library. "The restrooms in the basement of this building tend to be overlooked a bit by the cleaners, so they're quite unpopular, which makes them popular for other activities, if you know what I mean." He does a suggestive little wiggle with his eyebrows, looking around for Jooheon until he spots him at the back of the group, far from Minhyuk. He hasn't caught the boy looking at him even once since that hug, but he can't exactly blame him for wanting to keep away from him. "But don't tell anyone I told you that."

He continues the tour by walking across campus to show the freshmen the second cafeteria, walking past several other, less important buildings on the way. "This place serves mostly Western and Japanese food. And I think that's it for the tour. Any questions?"

"Are you not going to show us where classes are held?"

Minhyuk gives Changkyun a confused look. "You mean you're actually going to go to class? You weren't kidding before?"

Changkyun doesn't answer, his attention now somewhere to Minhyuk's right and Minhyuk follows his gaze. There, rounding a corner and slipping into one of the many campus buildings is none other than Yoo Kihyun, marching his assigned group of students around like a line of ants.

Minhyuk knows he has to act fast or he'll have Changkyun desert him for Kihyun (Oh, the humiliation when everyone finds out!), so he agrees to give his group an in-depth tour of the rest of the campus. As in-depth as he can make it, in any case. His memory of what exactly each building but the ones he most commonly uses houses is a bit iffy and he forgets the gym even exists, but that's mostly because the building is on the outskirts of campus, a couple streets over. Mostly. Minhyuk totally knew his university has a gym, it's not like one of the freshmen looked at her campus map and pointed it out to him.

 

Minhyuk leans against Kihyun's kitchen counter, hands absentmindedly playing with an abandoned spatula, as he waits for the other boy to finish cooking. "So, I did a thing," he says, because he cannot not talk about it, even though he knows Kihyun has no interest in hearing about his _things_ . But the _thing_ this time is different from his usual _things_ , so he feels relatively safe risking being denied dinner by talking about it.

Not unexpectedly, his friend lets out a exaggerated sigh in response, as if already knowing exactly what Minhyuk is going to say and that it is useless to try and stop him when he's already started. He would be right. "It's only the first day of orientation week and classes haven't even started yet. What could you have possibly managed to already fuck up?"

Minhyuk quickly hands Kihyun the spatula when the shorter boy flaps an impatient hand at him. Apparently it wasn't abandoned. "I fell in love."

Spatula Flight 1122 en route from Frying Pan to Plate suffers an engine failure and crash lands on the floor, Mr Sunny Side Up falling helplessly to his death and bleeding out in a puddle of yellow. The pilot belatedly realizes his mistake but it's already too late and there is nothing left for him to do but gape at the mess.

"I hope that was your egg and not mine," Minhyuk says. "Rest in pieces, Kihyun's egg."

Kihyun glares at him before reaching for a paper towel and squatting down to clean up. "You know, it's funny, I thought you just said you're in love."

"I did." Minhyuk helpfully opens the lid to the trash can so Kihyun can dispose of the remains of Mr Sunny. Farewell.

"You're in love," Kihyun says, voice incredulous, before carefully and successfully transporting Minhyuk's egg to his plate. "You, Lee Minhyuk, who just yesterday wasted an hour of my life by telling me all about how you're a free spirit who's never gonna be restrained by something as banal as love, is in love."

"We're getting married."

Minhyuk barely saves Kihyun's spotless kitchen from a tofu stew tsunami by taking the pot from his friend's failing hands. (Does he need to go see a doctor? This is the second time he's dropped something in less than five minutes.) Kihyun looks confusedly from the pot (now safe in Minhyuk's trustworthy hands) to the splatters of stew on his recently cleaned floor to Minhyuk's face, and back to the floor. Minhyuk moves the pot to the kitchen table while Kihyun gets a new sheet of paper towel to clean his most recent mess before it stains the floor.

"You're getting married." It's not really a question, and Kihyun's voice is brimming with disbelief. He finishes wiping the floor and straightens his back so he can look Minhyuk in the eye. "With whom?"

Minhyuk sits down at the table and waits for Kihyun to serve them rice and sit down opposite him before he starts his story, to hopefully prevent any more mishaps. "He's in my freshman group and he doesn't know — because I haven't proposed yet — but yes, we will get married one day."

Kihyun looks unimpressed. "So you met today," he says, speaking as slowly as he would to a child, "and over the course of the day, you fell in love and decided you're gonna get married."

"It was love at first sight."

"You do realize how ridiculous it sounds, right? Besides, you've never been in love. How can you be so sure that what you're apparently feeling for this guy you met today is love and not lust? It's a crush at most, but most probably just sexual attraction." Kihyun's eyebrow rises, as if challenging Minhyuk to argue.

Minhyuk never backs down from a challenge. He puts down his spoon so he can better focus on speaking. "I'm glad you brought that up, because that's the thing — I didn't want to just fuck him. I mean, if he offered, I wouldn't say no, but he was so cute you wouldn't believe! I wanted to kiss him all over. And just because I've never been in love doesn't mean I'm incapable of love. There's a first time for everything and as long as he'll let me, I'm ready to give him _all_ my love."

Kihyun gives him a wry smile. "What an honor. I bet he'd be delighted to hear about this overflowing love you've got for him."

Minhyuk ignores his friend in favor of pressing the tips of his index fingers to his own cheeks where dimples would be if he had any. "You should have seen his dimples. I want to fill them with water and take a bath in them."

Kihyun gives him a long look from over the rim of his glass of water. "You want to fill his dimples with water and take a bath in them."

Minhyuk nods, expression serious. "I want to fill his dimples with water and take a bath in them. Kihyun, I want to swim in his dimples. I want to stand on his nose and do a somersault—"

"I get it."

He thinks back to the precious moment earlier in the day when he held the boy in his arms. He's much better hugging material than Kihyun (his recent go-to when he needs a hug) and his thin, bony body. "He's so cuddly and cute I never wanted to let go when I hugged him."

Kihyun's spoon clatters to the tabletop, his deadpan expression finally giving in to some kind of emotion as he gapes at Minhyuk. "You hugged him? Was it at least mutual?"

"I might have sort of grabbed him—"

"Minhyuk, you can't just go around and grab people and—"

Minhyuk shuts his friend up with a hand raised in front of him. "It was for a good cause, you don't know the whole story. And okay, maybe I was a bit impulsive, but even you wouldn't be able to keep your hands off those squishy, squishy cheeks if you saw them. Anyways, he is The One, Kihyun. He's my Mr Right. It's him or no one. If I can't have him, I'll be single for the rest of my life. I have no interest in anyone else. He's ruined me for all other men—"

His declaration of eternal devotion to the boy is interrupted by the sound of the front door unlocking and someone entering. He looks at Kihyun in question. "Your new roommate?" Kihyun nods in confirmation. "You said you knew him from before?"

"Yeah, we grew up in the same neighborhood. He's a freshman in our school." Kihyun turns to ask in the direction of the front door, out of sight from the kitchen table, "How was your first day of uni?"

A weary sigh drifts into the kitchen, followed by a voice that grows rapidly louder as sock-clad feet pad into the kitchen. "Exhausting. The senior assigned to my group is really weird. You know what he did? He—"

Minhyuk nearly topples over in his chair as he meets the wide-open eyes of a shocked brunette. He is usually an eloquent guy and he talks more than he is quiet, but words fail him as Jooheon — _his boy_ — continues staring at him, face first going pale and then heating up. Minhyuk would like to allocate some of his brain power to appreciating how well that shade of pink suits the boy's clear complexion, but his brain is fully occupied with making sense of the fact that his future husband is Kihyun's childhood friend and current roommate and that he somehow looks even more gorgeous now than he did during the day, hair ruffled as if a tired hand has been dragged through it, and even though he couldn't wait to see him again, he was not prepared to see him this soon and shit, he really can't right now. He tears his eyes away from the boy and sends Kihyun a panicked glance in a try to telepathically send him an SOS.

"What," Kihyun says, a bit dumbly, but luckily seems to get the hint that Minhyuk's brain is currently stationed at the International Space Station and needs time to send signals to his body. He points at Minhyuk while addressing his roommate, "This is Minhyuk. He's a second-year in our school. You might have seen him today?"

Jooheon's mouth opens and closes uselessly, as if his brain, too, is having trouble communicating with his body, then makes a vague gesture behind himself in the general direction of his room. "I've got something to do, so…" He abruptly turns around and scurries away.

The moment Minhyuk hears the door to his room closing, his speech returns to him. "Please tell me he's gay."

Kihyun looks at him, then in the direction Jooheon disappeared in, then back to him. "No way, don't tell me—"

Minhyuk leans forward over the table in urgency and lowers his voice on the off chance Jooheon would hear him over the loud hip-hop music Minhyuk can hear from all the way at the opposite side of the apartment. "Kihyun, it's him. Your roommate is my future husband."

"Minhyuk—"

"So is he gay? Or at least bi? Open to experiment?"

"Jooheon's not like that," Kihyun says and Minhyuk's heart sinks. Hello, Heartbreak.

Kihyun gives Minhyuk a tight-lipped smile. "I mean he's not… He's innocent."

Hello, Hope. "Innocence has never been sexier."

"Minhyuk, I'm serious. You're both my friends, but Jooheon's been my baby since he was born. I saw him take his first steps, even though I don't remember it. But if you hurt him, I'll personally make sure you've taken your last steps."

 

**Kihyun** : Jooheon told me what you did after you left

**Minhyuk** : ?

**Kihyun:** You hugged him in front of his future classmates on his first day of uni

**Minhyuk** : I was demonstrating something

**Kihyun:** You touched his ass!

**Minhyuk:** Just very briefly for like 1 second. It was an accident. Honestly. My hand moved on its own. You'd know if you've ever hugged him

**Kihyun:** I've hugged him but I don't touch his ass when I do. Normal people don't do that. Especially not to random people. Normal people don't hug random people!!!

**Kihyun:** When you said he had squishy cheeks I assumed you referred to his face cheeks like a normal person not his fucking ASS cheeks!

**Kihyun:** He's freaked out

**Kihyun** : He hates you and doesn't want to ever see you again

**Minhyuk** : No he doesn't

**Minhyuk** : Btw I did refer to his face cheeks, but his ass is not bad either

**Kihyun** : Yes he does. You don't know him.

**Minhyuk** : I don't know him, but I know you. You're the one who hates me for liking him.

**Minhyuk** : You want me to give up on him

**Minhyuk** : Not gonna happen

**Minhyuk** : Remember what I said? It's him or no one and I don't wanna live the rest of my life alone

**Kihyun** : But you did freak him out

**Kihyun** : I've warned you against randomly hugging and touching strangers

**Minhyuk** : I'm a naturally touchy person. I can't help it

**Minhyuk** : And we're not strangers. Hugging is okay between seniors and juniors

**Kihyun** : Don't do it again

**Kihyun** : I shouldn't say this but if you're serious about him, take it slow with him. For everyone's sake

**Kihyun** : I'm not sure I can commit a perfect murder and I don't wanna end up in jail before I get my degree

**Minhyuk** : Thanks for giving me your permission!

**Kihyun** : That's not what I meant

**Minhyuk** : It's exactly what you meant

**Kihyun** : If I did, I take it back

**Minhyuk** : You can't. I'm glad to have your support in this endeavor

**Kihyun** : You don't have my support. I'm 100% on Jooheon's side

**Minhyuk** : He'll soon be on my side so then you'll be too

**Kihyun** : We'll see

**Minhyuk** : I know it

 

Minhyuk exits the bathroom busy wiping his wet hands on his pants, so he almost misses the two people engaged in conversation in a hallway leading off the one he's walking along. Sensing imminent danger for his own reputation, he backtracks and peeks around the corner.

There, some meters away, stands Kihyun. He has tucked a white sweater into a pair of tan slacks and finished it off with a plaid scarf tied around his neck. He looks like a boy scout.

Minhyuk's face scrunches up in a grimace.

What is even more shocking and more important than his friend's unfortunate fashion choices, is that the boy he's talking to is none other than Im Changkyun — Minhyuk's student. It is only Wednesday — the third day of the orientation week — but Minhyuk already easily recognizes the boy anywhere, since he appears to have taken a liking to Jooheon. The two freshmen are always near each other, and since Minhyuk's eyes always seek out Jooheon, well. Minhyuk's not sure if he should be proud they became friends thanks to his matchmaking or jealous that Changkyun gets to talk to Jooheon, when the latter avoids Minhyuk like the plague.

From this distance, Minhyuk cannot make out what the two guys are talking about, so he takes a step forward to get closer, when Jooheon exits a room near where they are standing. He quickly hides behind the corner again to spy some more.

The first thing Minhyuk notices is that Jooheon looks great in red (but then again, he looks great in anything, and probably in nothing too). The next thing he notices is that the plaid pattern on his cap matches the colors and pattern of Changkyun's plaid shirt. Did they plan their outfits together or something? The third thing he notices is Kihyun's hand sneaking up to touch Jooheon's arm for no reason at all and then Changkyun resting an arm on his shoulder, like Jooheon's a magnet for skinship. Minhyuk's own hands twitch and want to reach out and touch him as well.

Their little group of three looks so happy and friendly that he can't take it. He wants to be part of their joyful chat and be able to see Jooheon's smile from up close. And really, he is in charge of the two freshmen and Kihyun is his friend, so there's no reason why he wouldn't be able to go up and talk to them. He rounds the corner he's been hiding behind and strides over.

"Recruiting people to your cult, Kihyun?" Three pairs of eyes focus on Minhyuk and he nods politely to the younger boys. "Hello, Jooheon, I.M."

The first-years greet him with simple 'hello's, Changkyun's somewhat reluctant and Jooheon's uneasy.

Kihyun skips the greeting. "Cult?"

"Yes, your cult. Where you worship homework and pray to the textbook gods for luck in exams. Meetings every afternoon in the library."

"Ha ha, funny. You're so hilarious, Minhyuk." Kihyun looks anything but amused, but that's his problem; during the year Minhyuk's known him, he's never been very good at relaxing and enjoying life despite Minhyuk's continuous efforts to teach him.

"Thanks, I try."

"Speaking of, both Jooheon and Changkyun have expressed their interest in joining my group, stating their senior-in-charge as the reason," Kihyun says and crosses his arms over his narrow chest.

Minhyuk turns to both boys in question; Changkyun looks as defiant and uncaring as ever, while Jooheon has the decency to flinch under his gaze, his cheeks coloring. He's not planning on winning the brunette's heart by intimidation, but he would expect some kind of respect and loyalty at least after their three days together. It honestly hurts him that he would want to move to Kihyun's group. Furthermore, the orientation week is soon over and when classes start up next week, the seniors and juniors won't be seeing each other as often anymore (although in Jooheon's case, Minhyuk's planning on seeing him way more than he has so far). "It's a bit late to change groups now. I'm surprised that you guys find the reliable, kind, friendly, tall, handsome me not good enough."

"Apparently they deem your guidance lacking. You don't satisfy their thirst for knowledge," Kihyun says.

"I'm good at satisfying other thirsts."

Kihyun glares at him and jerks his head in Jooheon's direction in what is probably a less subtle way than he thinks. "We talked about this."

"Talked about what?" Jooheon asks. The tips of his ears are the same shade of red as his shirt. It's obvious the boy knows they are talking about him. Way to go Kihyun.

"Nothing," Kihyun says. He smiles gently at Jooheon as if to assure him that whatever they've talked about doesn't concern him, then levels another icy glare at Minhyuk, which is completely unfounded; Minhyuk might have started it, but Kihyun made it worse.

Their staring match is only interrupted by Changkyun's bored voice asking, "So can we change groups or not?"

Kihyun answers 'yes' at the same time Minhyuk says 'no'.

"So?" Changkyun says. "Yes?"

This time, Minhyuk's 'no' is loud enough to drown out Kihyun's 'yes'.

"Come on, give me a chance," Minhyuk says. "After this week you won't see me much and since you and Jooheon seem to be friends now — all thanks to me, I may add — you'll probably see Kihyun more than you want to anyway." He doesn't add that he will also be found by Kihyun's side, but oh well. They'll found out on their own soon enough.

 

Minhyuk feels like a sheepdog as he herds his own rowdy students together and separates them from the groups of the other seniors in the big, open courtyard of their campus on Friday evening.

"Is everyone here?" he asks, sweeping his gaze over the lot of them and ticking their names off on the name list one student at a time. "I.M, I can't see you, you better not have ditched us—"

"I'm here." The boy in question appears beside Jooheon, laying a hand on the other's shoulder that Minhyuk hopes the black-haired boy will remove if he glares at it long enough. It doesn't work; either Changkyun is oblivious to his supernatural eye power, or he simply doesn't care. Minhyuk suspects it's the latter.

Giving up on the hand infringing on Jooheon's personal space, Minhyuk plasters a bright smile on his face that is only somewhat fake as he beams it at Changkyun, but genuine as he turns it on Jooheon, who seems to shrink slightly under his gaze. "Perfect! Good job Jooheon, you've managed to keep him here with us." He makes a wide, sweeping gesture over his patiently waiting group of freshmen. "Everyone's here, right? Follow me, sheep!"

He leads them all out of the courtyard and towards the restaurant near campus where the party marking the end of orientation week will take place. Kihyun's group joins them as they spill out onto the sidewalk and the students take it as a chance to mingle and chat amongst each other. Feeling left out, Minhyuk moves to walk alongside Kihyun so he can scrutinize his outfit — blue from head to toe.

"Denim on denim? Really?"

"Do you have nothing else to do other than judge my fashion?" Kihyun asks.

"My kids abandoned me for your kids."

Kihyun looks over his shoulder at the excitedly chatting first-years, who have now been joined by students from other groups too. "Must mean you're not good company," he says.

"I'm good enough for you."

"Ever considered that I'm only hanging out with you out of pity?"

Minhyuk slings an arm around Kihyun's shoulders and pulls him closer, making the shorter boy stumble. "Never. I know you love me."

Kihyun mumbles something unintelligible under his breath but doesn't push Minhyuk away.

 

The seniors herd the freshmen into the restaurant and instruct them to take seats at the several long, low tables. One of the fourth-year students sets up a mic and proceeds to welcome all freshmen and tell them to enjoy the calm before the storm, making sure to instill unnecessary fear in the youngsters, about the mountains of homework and exams that await them starting Monday.

Minhyuk spots Jooheon looking mildly like he regrets applying to university. He leans over the table to ask something of Kihyun — presumably if the senior's words are true — and Minhyuk decides he needs to get over there before it's too late, and Kihyun's enthusiasm for studying makes Jooheon drop out.

As he's on his way over to cheer the boy up, he unfortunately gets caught by the wrist by one of the senior girls and forced to help out with serving the drinks, and afterwards the food. As he does, he looks longingly over at Jooheon and almost drops his tray as he trips over his own feet. Of course Jooheon chooses that moment to look up and he catches Minhyuk looking less-than-smooth. The shy grin on the boy's lips as he tries not to laugh is worth Minhyuk's embarrassment though.

 

Two whole hours pass before Minhyuk has a chance to talk to Jooheon. With an exhausted sigh he plops down on the floor next to the boy. The more the first-years drink, the more they seem to like him and he never realized before how tiring popularity is, however temporary. Jooheon acknowledges his presence with a polite nod, then goes back to talking to Changkyun, who barely spares Minhyuk a glance from where he's sitting on Jooheon's other side. The both of them haven't left their seats the whole time they've been here and they've been talking to each other for most of that time. Minhyuk feels he's allowed to interrupt. This is a night for socializing and making friends after all.

"Jooheon," he says, cutting off the boy's review of a song by an American artist Minhyuk has never heard of. Jooheon glances at him warily, so Minhyuk gives him a friendly smile he hopes will soothe his nerves. "How are you liking university?"

"Classes haven't started yet so I can't say."

"True. What about you I.M, looking forward to starting your studies?" Minhyuk's attempt to include Changkyun in the conversation earns him a raised eyebrow from said boy, but Jooheon visibly relaxes we he realizes he won't have to talk to Minhyuk one-on-one. Minhyuk tries not to feel offended or disappointed; getting Jooheon to warm up to him will apparently take some time, and having him talk to him at all is a step in the right direction.

"Yes. Kihyun's given me a lot of tips I might've never gotten if Jooheon hadn't introduced me to him, since you wouldn't let me switch groups," Changkyun says.

"Now now." Minhyuk reaches behind Jooheon to pat Changkyun consolingly on the back, but he pulls away when Jooheon flinches as if he thought Minhyuk was going to touch him. "Well anyway, I'm basically the one who introduced you to Jooheon so you should give me some credit."

Jooheon gets up then, telling them he's going to the bathroom. The moment he's out of earshot, Changkyun slides over to Minhyuk's side and lowers his voice so the other students around them won't hear.

"You like him, right?"

Minhyuk nods, figuring there's no need to lie. If Changkyun stays friends with Jooheon, he'll find out sooner or later anyway.

"You're not exactly subtle," Changkyun says, glancing in the direction Jooheon disappeared in. "Starting with how you grabbed his ass on the first day—"

Here, Minhyuk feels the need to explain himself, "I didn't grab it. It was a light pat, completely accidental. But go on." He motions for the younger to continue speaking.

"And you look at him all the time. I know because we're usually together."

"Do you like him?"

"I— What?" It's the first time Changkyun's face has showed some kind of emotion other than poorly-hidden annoyance in front of Minhyuk and he's proud of being the cause of that refreshing look of confused surprise.

"Do you like Jooheon?" Minhyuk repeats. "Since you're always together."

"Yeah, he's cool." Changkyun stares at him for another moment, then both his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. "I like him as a friend. Not like— Did you think I like him like _that_?"

"Not really, but I wanna know who I'm up against. Get the competition out of the way as soon as possible."

Changkyun gives him a look that's bordering on pity and takes a gulp of his beer. "I don't think he likes you though."

Minhyuk smirks. "He will when he gets to know me."

Changkyun snorts and glances in the direction of the bathrooms, then turns back to Minhyuk with a smirk of his own. "Good luck with that."

It turns out that luck is exactly what Minhyuk needs but is in severe lack of; the moment Jooheon returns to their table, Minhyuk is snatched away by some freshmen girls eager to charm him. Too bad he's gay. But he's polite enough to humor them and only looks longingly at the back of Jooheon's head for about half the time he talks with the girls.

 

"I'm never doing this again," Kihyun says as he flops gracelessly down on the floor with a groan. It's around midnight, maybe a bit later, and all freshmen have left to either go home or continue the party elsewhere. Only the seniors are left to help the restaurant staff clean up the mess they made.

Kihyun points with a disgusted look on his face at a huge, wet spot on his shirt as he continues, "A guy threw up all over me when I tried to help him to the bathroom. And I never thought there are people more talkative than you, but there _are_. I thought my ear was gonna fall off. Why are drunk people so exhausting?"

Minhyuk continues stacking empty, sticky glasses stinking of beer on a tray. He understands where Kihyun's coming from, but he can't help laughing at him sprawled on the floor, the top buttons of his shirt unbuttoned to expose part of his chest. Kihyun blindly reaches up to the table closest to him and fumbles around with his hand until he hits a plate with some chicken left. He grabs a drumstick and brings it to his mouth to start gnawing on it. Minhyuk wishes the freshmen — especially Changkyun, who seems to look up to Kihyun so much — could see this. See that Kihyun is not always the prim and proper, nerdy role model they all think he is.

"I don't think we were any better last year," Minhyuk says. He finishes stacking the glasses and tries to lift the tray; it's too heavy so he moves some glasses back to the table.

"You maybe. I distinctly remember _you_ throwing up all over me when I tried to help you to the bathroom."

"And look at us now! Best friends. All thanks to that."

"You mean if it was someone else who threw up on me, I'd be best friend with them now?" Kihyun raises his head to grin at him. "I hope that guy from tonight will become my new best friend so I can get rid of you."

Minhyuk tuts at him and shakes his head. "That kind of thing only works once. You're stuck with me now."

Kihyun groans and lets his head fall back down to the floor with a painful-sounding thud. "What did I ever do to deserve this fate?"

Minhyuk laughs at him and then looks closer at the spot of the floor Kihyun's currently occupying. "You might want to know that someone spilled beer where you're lying."

Kihyun flies to his feet with a loud yell. "You're telling me now?"

 

"Does Jooheon like ice cream?"

"Who doesn't like ice cream?"

Minhyuk shrugs. "Just making sure. I'd like to take him out for some. Starting slow, you know, like friends. It thought dinner would scream 'date' and scare him off. So, ice cream."

Kihyun gives him a look. "Are you asking me for permission again?"

"No, just letting you know."

Kihyun gives him another look, then goes back to reading his textbook. (It's the third day of classes and he's already studying. Minhyuk feels sorry for him.) "I don't care if you do, but can you even convince him to go anywhere with you?"

 

It turns out that Minhyuk cannot, in fact, convince Jooheon to go and get ice cream together. He can't even get close enough to the boy to ask him. Changkyun has made it into his personal mission to warn Jooheon of Minhyuk whenever the second-year is within ten meters of them, so that Jooheon can run away. The black-haired boy has turned into an Lee Minhyuk Warner 2000 that screams 'stranger danger' at maximum volume when it detects him.

Minhyuk tries to approach Jooheon every time he sees him around on campus. And every time Changkyun spots him, steers Jooheon away and gives Minhyuk a shit-eating grin.

By Friday afternoon of the first week of classes, Minhyuk is exhausted, but not about to give up so fast.

**Minhyuk** : Will you and Jooheon be home tonight?

**Kihyun** : Why

**Minhyuk** : Yes or no

**Kihyun** : Yes and don't know

**Kihyun** : I don't know Jooheon's plans. Ask him yourself

**Minhyuk** : I can't. I've tried

**Kihyun** : Try harder

**Minhyuk** : Come on help me. We're friends.

**Kihyun** : No

**Minhyuk** : Just this once

**Minhyuk** : Or I'll bother you every time you're trying to study

**Minhyuk** : You know I'd do it

**Kihyun** : I think he'll be home

 

Minhyuk rings the doorbell to Kihyun and Jooheon's apartment, plastic bag swinging from his arm. A few moments later, Kihyun opens the door, looking him up and down before noticing the bag.

"What's that?"

Minhyuk steps inside and toes off his shoes when his friend moves aside. He speaks unnaturally loud on purpose, loud enough for Jooheon to hear if he's home, "I bought ice cream. I figured since we're both lonely, single guys and it's a Friday night, we could celebrate with some ice cream or wallow in our sorrows if you're more into that. Maybe put on a movie. I got three, in case Jooheon is home and wants to join us."

Minhyuk points at the closed door to Jooheon's room and raises an eyebrow in question. Kihyun nods and then as if taking pity on him, goes to knock on the younger boy's door.

"Jooheon, do you want ice cream?"

Minhyuk watches as Jooheon's door inches open and the boy's eyes meet with his for a second before he says something to Kihyun that Minhyuk can't hear. Kihyun says something back and then Jooheon steps out of his room and Minhyuk mentally screams. Victory!

Minhyuk hurries to the coffee table in front of the TV, sets the bag down and takes the small, different-flavored ice cream tubs out, lining them up. He sits down on one end of the couch and turns to Kihyun. "Could you make me some coffee?"

His friend obediently goes into the kitchen, leaving Minhyuk and Jooheon alone in the living room. Minhyuk waves the younger boy closer and points at the ice cream. "Choose one."

Jooheon hesitantly comes closer to study the flavors, quickly making up his mind and picking chocolate.

"Ah, chocolate," Minhyuk says. "Sinfully smooth. As you taste it you feel the warmth of where the cocoa beans were grown heating you up inside. It melts on your tongue and makes you want more. Chocolate improves your mood, and as such, every taste of it is a taste of ecstasy."

Jooheon looks at him in confusion and puts the chocolate back, picking up the next flavor. Minhyuk grins.

"Banana split. Great choice. Everyone knows what bananas taste like and all taste pretty much the same, grow in the same shape. But this isn't made of no ordinary bananas. Only the best bananas are used, because only the best are good enough. Then it's been drizzled with smooth dark chocolate sauce, a special formulation that gives it a distinct, addictive taste, which makes you want to lick at it until you reach the sweetness of the strawberry sauce it hides within."

Jooheon glances in the direction of the kitchen. If Minhyuk reads the expression on his face right, the boy wishes Kihyun would hurry up with the coffee and come save him from Minhyuk. But luck is on Minhyuk's side for once, so Jooheon puts the banana split on the table and hesitantly touches a finger to the last portion-sized tub of ice cream, as if afraid it'll come to life and attack him. Minhyuk picks it up and places it firmly in Jooheon's hand. (His skin is soft and smooth. Minhyuk wants to stroke it forever.)

"Vanilla. Understated elegance. Plain on the outside, but full of rich flavor on the inside. Not as flashy as banana split, but eye-catching in its simpleness. Many people like to choose more exciting flavors for the novelty or just to spice things up, not knowing that when done right, vanilla gives you a pleasurable experience like no other."

Jooheon looks absolutely appalled, glancing towards the kitchen again and then to his own room and then back to the ice cream in his hand. Minhyuk is rather impressed with how long the boy has lasted. If he's being honest, he had thought he would run the moment he had described the first flavor to him. He wants to give him an applause for lasting so long alone in Minhyuk's presence, but then Jooheon's stomach rumbles and he understands.

Food: 1 — Minhyuk: 0

But this is good to know; if Jooheon's hungry enough and Minhyuk's offering food, the younger can stand to be near him. He mentally notes it down for future reference.

Kihyun returns with Minhyuk's coffee and Jooheon relaxes. The redhead looks between the both of them, but must figure that if Jooheon's still here, Minhyuk hasn't done anything too bad, because he doesn't say anything. He sets the coffee down in front of Minhyuk and then picks up the chocolate ice cream. He makes an indignant sound as Minhyuk snatches it right out of his hand and offers it to Jooheon.

"You wanted this one, right?"

Jooheon's ears turn pink, but the boy accepts the tub Minhyuk's holding out for him and puts the vanilla down.

Kihyun glances between the both of them again, looking both suspicious and curious. "What's going—"

"Which one do you want, Kihyun?" Minhyuk says, successfully interrupting the other and reaching for the remote to turn the TV on. He unsuccessfully hides his smile as Jooheon sits down on the couch with him to eat. Kihyun sits between them, but it's a step forward.

 

Minhyuk _thought_ it was a step forward, the three of them — he, Kihyun and Jooheon — eating ice cream in peace while watching TV together. But come Monday , Jooheon's back to avoiding him, the Lee Jooheon Protector 5000 not helping. It isn't until Friday — a whole week later — that Minhyuk manages to get close enough to Jooheon to say hi to him. He's shocked when Jooheon actually says hi back. So shocked, in fact, that he doesn't mind when the boy follows Changkyun into the cafeteria for lunch, leaving Minhyuk standing alone and smiling like an idiot. _This_ must be a step forward.

 

Steps forward or not, Minhyuk's always been impatient, unable to sit still for long, always moving either his body or his mouth. So when another week passes with nothing more than brief hellos forced upon Jooheon and reluctantly answered, a snickering Im Changkyun in the background, Minhyuk decides to change his tactics. While he's okay with taking it slow if it means he can have Jooheon in the end — either as a friend or a boyfriend — if they continue _this_ slow, at this snail's pace they're going, he'll have graduated before they've gotten to the 'how are you?' following the 'hi'. He needs to speed it up a bit, to a tortoise's pace at least.

 

It's Saturday afternoon when Minhyuk shows up unannounced at Kihyun and Jooheon's door, a large duffel bag on his shoulder and hair purposely ruffled into a mess.

"What are you doing here?" Kihyun's outfit consisting of a ratty t-shirt and sweatpants makes it obvious he wasn't expecting company, not that they care much what they wear around each other. Nevertheless, he steps aside to let Minhyuk in and grimaces as his soaked sneakers squeak on the floor. In a rare act of kindness, he takes the overnight bag and jacket from Minhyuk to let the latter wrestle his shoes off his feet and then his equally wet socks, leaving them in a soggy heap right inside the front door.

"What's going on?" Kihyun asks, eyeing the wet mess Minhyuk is making on his floor as he walks barefoot further into the apartment. "It's not even raining."

Minhyuk plops down on the couch with a weary sigh and folds his hands in his lap, eyes dropping to the floor as he makes himself look as small and miserable as possible. "A pipe burst in my apartment and there's water everywhere. It'll take a while before it's fixed." He looks up at Kihyun, channeling his inner puppy. "I need to stay here until it's done. I'll sleep on the couch."

Kihyun puts the bag down on the floor and then takes a seat next to Minhyuk. "It's very sudden."

Minhyuk changes his expression into one of hurt at the distrust in his friend's words. "I didn't plan for this to happen."

Kihyun gives him a long, assessing look.

Minhyuk nods, expression solemn, like he would rather not be in this situation if he could choose. "So can I stay here?"

Kihyun looks at the closed door of Jooheon's room, then back at Minhyuk. He presses his lips together as he makes a decision. "I'm okay with it, but you need to ask Jooheon too."

Minhyuk grins wide and pulls Kihyun into a hug. "You're my bestest friend ever! Is Jooheon home?"

Kihyun pulls back, forcing Minhyuk to let go of him, and gives him a stare. "You're not making this up, right?"

Minhyuk laughs at that ridiculous assumption. "Even I wouldn't come up with that kind of lie." Except he totally would.

Kihyun still looks reluctant to fully believe him, but eventually seems to make up his mind and decide to trust Minhyuk. "Jooheon's out."

"Guess I'll have to ask him when he comes home then. In the meantime, I'm gonna take a nap." He pushes at Kihyun's shoulder so he'll stand up and let Minhyuk stretch out lengthwise on the couch. "Can I borrow a pillow?"

Kihyun slips into his room for a minute and comes back with a pillow, blanket and towel, placing them in a neat pile on the coffee table. Minhyuk grabs the pillow and places it under his head, then reaches for the blanket, shaking out the folds in it before he covers himself. "Don't disturb me," he says. "I like to nap in peace."

 

Minhyuk isn't disturbed from his slumber until the sun has set and plunged the living room into darkness. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes and takes a moment to orient himself. When he smells food cooking he remembers where he is. He pads into the brightly lit kitchen and squints at Kihyun laying the table for three.

"You should have woken me up," Minhyuk says, voice rough with sleep. "Now I won't be able to sleep tonight."

"You told me not to disturb you." Kihyun finishes placing the chopsticks before he looks up, chuckling as he takes in Minhyuk's appearance. "You might want to do something with your hair. Jooheon will be home any minute."

"Oh."

Minhyuk fixes his hair — unruly from his nap — in the bathroom the best he can without washing it or using product, and is done in time to greet Jooheon, who's walking in through the front door, cheeks red from the chilly late-March night.

It's obvious that the younger boy hasn't been warned by Kihyun about their guest, because Jooheon hesitates just inside the door before he lets it fall shut behind him. Even the soft click of the door closing sounds unsure.

"Hi," Minhyuk says.

"Hi."

"Dinner's ready. Wash your hands and come eat."

Minhyuk re-joins Kihyun in the kitchen where the red-haired boy is serving them all rice. Jooheon soon appears in the doorway, hesitating once again, and Minhyuk suddenly feels like he is the one who lives here with Kihyun while Jooheon is the guest.

"Kihyun didn't say you were coming over," Jooheon says to Minhyuk as he finally sits down with them at the table. "If I'd known, I'd eaten outside."

"He didn't know. But I don't mind you being here." Minhyuk takes a long look at Jooheon's face. His cheeks are still rosy from the cold but slowly warming up. His body language isn't. "Do _you_ mind me being here?"

Jooheon waves a hand quickly back and forth in front of his face. "No, it's okay. You're Kihyun's friend. I can't stop him from inviting his friends."

"A pipe burst in Minhyuk's apartment, so he needs somewhere to stay until it's fixed," Kihyun says. Minhyuk's thankful for him bringing it up, but he could have been a bit gentler about it, eased Jooheon into the idea a bit _slower_. Tortoise pace. Minhyuk can see the gears turning in the youngest's head and he's not sure he likes it. "I told him he can stay here, but only if you're okay with it of course."

Minhyuk is sure Jooheon is preparing a way to reject him nicely by the way it's taking the boy a whole minute and a half to answer, so he's surprised to see a tiny smile on his lips when he finally does say, head bent and eyes avoiding Minhyuk's, "It's okay. I mean, if you don't have anywhere else to stay, I can't say no."

 

Apart from the dinner on Saturday, Minhyuk barely sees Jooheon around for the next several days despite spending his breaks between classes scouring the hallways and all his free time at Jooheon and Kihyun's apartment. At school Jooheon is protected by his personal bodyguard and at home by the closed door of his room. Minhyuk's not enough of a stalker to invade his privacy at home more than he's already doing by camping out in his living room, so he leaves the boy alone when he shuts himself inside his bedroom.

On Wednesday night, Minhyuk comes back from his part-time job at the coffee shop near campus to find Jooheon on the couch watching soccer. If he wasn't exhausted from an unusually long and tiring day of both school and work, he would perhaps be more eager and enthusiastic at finding the boy out of his room for once, but as it is he can't bring himself to care much.

Jooheon cares, however, and the moment he sees Minhyuk he's off the couch and making a beeline for his room without even turning the TV off first.

"You can watch—" Minhyuk says, but he's cut off by Jooheon's door closing. Feeling bad for the boy for not being able to relax and do whatever he wants to in his own home (all thanks to Minhyuk), he knocks on the door. "Jooheon? You can watch TV, I don't mind. I'm gonna take a shower."

He doesn't wait for an answer, just picks up his towel and pajamas and moves to the bathroom, figuring the younger will emerge from his room if he wants to. If he doesn't, well, Minhyuk's too tired to make more of an effort tonight.

 

Back from his shower, Minhyuk is happy to find Jooheon back on the couch, eyes following the rapid movement of the players and ball on the TV screen. The boy is so engrossed in the game he doesn't notice Minhyuk until he sits down next to him, leaving a respectable amount of space between them.

"You can keep watching. It's your house, you shouldn't mind me," Minhyuk says before the boy has time to react. Then he decides to bring up a topic that has been bothering him. "I didn't mean to touch your ass that time and I'm sorry if it made you uncomfortable. I won't touch you again unless you're okay with it, so if that's why you keep avoiding me, just know that you don't have to anymore. But if you really don't like me for some reason and don't want me here, just say so and I'll find somewhere else to stay."

Jooheon regards him for a few moments, but when he opens his mouth to answer, there are jubilant shouts coming from the TV and his attention is torn from Minhyuk and back on the screen in the blink of an eye.

Minhyuk smiles to himself, finding the expression on the other boy's face as he concentrates on the game too cute. "Just watch first and answer later." Jooheon doesn't answer, but Minhyuk knows he heard him, for the younger gives a sort of absentminded nod. Minhyuk lies down on the opposite end of the couch from the boy, pulls his legs up to avoid touching him and covers himself with the blanket. The last thing he's aware of before he falls asleep is Jooheon's hushed shouts as he cheers the players on.

 

Minhyuk finds Jooheon sitting at the kitchen table calmly eating breakfast the next morning. Every other morning, Jooheon's left for school before Minhyuk's even woken up.

"Good morning," the boy says, glancing up from his plate, then going back to scrolling on his phone.

"Good morning." It feels like the roles have been reversed, because now Minhyuk is the surprised one who hesitates in the doorway before shuffling to the coffee machine for his caffeine fix.

Jooheon clears his throat and while Minhyuk's got his back to him so he can't see him, he can tell that the younger is gearing up to speak. However, the next moment the boy must stuff his face with food, because when he does speak, his voice is muffled and so low Minhyuk has trouble making out what he is saying, "You can continue staying here."

Minhyuk looks over his shoulder and briefly meets Jooheon's eyes over the top of the phone that the younger's holding up to his face. "Are you sure? Because if you're only saying that to be kind—"

"No, I'm just not good with strangers, but I'll— I'll try."

"You became friends with Changkyun awfully fast. And I've seen you talking with many other people at school too," Minhyuk says, staring the boy down over the phone. He catches a curious blush on Jooheon's cheeks before the boy bends his head down to his plate to hide.

"Just— Stay here if you want. I don't care what you do." Jooheon shovels the last of his breakfast into his mouth at light speed, gets up while still chewing, brings his plate to the sink and then leaves Minhyuk alone in the kitchen. The door to his room closes two seconds later.

 

"Are you studying?"

Minhyuk looks up from his textbook to meet Kihyun's wide eyes. He tidies up his books and notes so his friend can sit next to him. "Yes."

"Is everything okay? Are you already failing? Were you forced to be here? Are you being blackmailed?"

Minhyuk snorts. "Of course not. Aren't students supposed to study? Why are you so surprised?"

Kihyun raises an eyebrow at him and crosses his arms over his chest, obviously not believing him. "Because you're in the library, studying, voluntarily. I could count on one hand the amount of times it has happened before."

Minhyuk picks up a pencil and spins it in his hand. "I realized that the library being quiet has more advantages than just making it a good place for taking naps."

"But you're _studying_ , weeks before midterms."

It's like Kihyun thinks Minhyuk never studies; he does, just not in the library and always at the last moment. "I'm in a good mood."

Disbelief clashes with curiosity on Kihyun's features. "What got you in such a good mood that you're studying?"

Minhyuk grins as he gives the pencil a last, violent twirl, causing it to spin out of control and land in Kihyun's lap. "Jooheon and I took our relationship to the next level this morning."

"You what?" Kihyun's loud cry echoes in the library and earns them several irritated glares from surrounding students. He ducks his head in embarrassment, then picks up the pencil and flicks it at Minhyuk as if in retaliation, although Kihyun totally brought the shame upon himself.

"Yes," Minhyuk says, at a library-appropriate volume — unlike someone, he has manners. "Jooheon said good morning to me first. And by that I mean Jooheon said good morning to me for the first time. I always wondered why people say _good_ morning, when mornings never are, but I know now. It certainly is a good morning if Jooheon is the one greeting you."

Kihyun relaxes next to him, looking immensely relieved. He bends down to the floor to take a textbook out of his bag and cracks it open, immediately starting to read.

Minhyuk waggles his eyebrows at him, smirking. "What did you think I meant?"

"Nothing."

"You must have imagined something."

"No."

"You must have a vivid imagination to make you that shocked."

"No."

Minhyuk takes his pencil back in hand and resumes the spinning. "We're taking it slow, remember? But keep imagining me and Jooheon together. Maybe the gods will see it and help me speed things up."

"I didn't imagine anything!"

"Yeah yeah. Don't be shy. You're not the only one who imagines us together."

Kihyun takes the pen from him and throws it across the library. It falls to the floor with a clatter and rolls under a shelf. Minhyuk can't be bothered with fetching it. His own textbook lies forgotten on the table as he makes himself more comfortable in his chair and closes his eyes, to do some of that imagining himself.

 

After taking their relationship to the next level of mutual interaction, Jooheon gradually gets more comfortable around Minhyuk at home. He also acknowledges Minhyuk if they run into each other at school. (His guard dog has become more trusting of Minhyuk and lets him close now.) As a reward, Minhyuk has stopped stalking him all the time, satisfied with seeing him at home. He doesn't want to scare the boy away now that he has finally started opening up to him. They're still going at a tortoise's pace, though.

So it's safe to say that it comes as a surprise to Minhyuk, when on Sunday evening, Jooheon wanders into the kitchen wearing nothing but a towel hanging low on his hips, miles of bare skin pinkish from a hot shower. Minhyuk slurps a noodle down his lung and starts coughing so hard he actually thinks he's gonna suffocate. At least he has something beautiful to feast his eyes on in his dying moments.

Jooheon is startled by his cough which is indication enough that the younger hadn't planned on running into Minhyuk while half naked. It's understandable, as Minhyuk had earlier said he was going out, but then it started raining so he decided to stay in. Jooheon's already pink skin darkens a shade from his chest up but he thankfully doesn't make some pathetic try to cover up his body with his hands, which Minhyuk — even while taking his last breaths — remembers to be thankful for, because Jooheon shouldn't cover anything up, ever.

After the boy gets over his initial shock and embarrassment to notice that Minhyuk is dying at his kitchen table, he gives him a concerned look and hands him a glass of water. The older gratefully gulps it down the moment he's stopped coughing enough. "Are you okay?"

Minhyuk peers at the boy through eyes blurry with tears. He wipes his sleeve across them and then takes another moment to clear his throat, eventually rasping out, "Never been better."

"You said you were going out."

"Change of plans."

Jooheon pulls something out of the fridge and transfers it to the microwave before turning back to Minhyuk. "I was going to watch a TV show later."

Minhyuk chews his noodles properly before he answers, not wanting to risk another accident. "Just watch it."

"But…"

Minhyuk can guess what it is Jooheon isn't saying: 'but the living room is where you're staying'. "I've told you not to mind me. Watch TV if you want to, you don't have to ask me."

"Okay."

"Do you mind if I watch it with you?"

Jooheon turns to the microwave, as if looking for the answer in the numbers ticking down on its small screen. The food spins around on the plate inside, the microwave beeps, Jooheon — finally — says no.

And that's how Minhyuk finds himself watching Netflix with Jooheon — who has unfortunately put some clothes on — on Sunday night, a bowl of popcorn between them on the couch. It's not exactly Netflix and chill, but they're getting there.

 

Minhyuk's mouth opens nearly as wide as the front door as he yawns his arrival home after school. He had accidentally fallen asleep in his last class and when he woke up at the end of it, he must have been in the middle of the stage of sleep that's the worst for waking up. He read something about it once, but he's currently too groggy to remember which it was.

As he enters the kitchen, he complains to the room at large how very tired he is, not caring if anyone's even in there to hear him. A second later, his half-open eyes widen as he notices Im Changkyun helping Kihyun with dinner — a sight that is sure to wake anyone up. He blinks about fifty times at the two of them before his eyes accept what they're seeing. Even then his mind still doesn't fully understand, but he pushes his one hundred questions aside — mentally making a note to remember to ask them later — in favor of checking what the boys are making. Stepping between them, he drapes his arms over the shoulders of both of them, leaning all his weight on the shorter boys as he inspects the status of his dinner.

Kihyun is stirring something in a pan and Minhyuk's mouth waters at the sight. He presses his fingers into his friend's neck, massaging it in the way he knows Kihyun likes, until the redhead gives in and lets him taste a piece of carrot. Minhyuk's so hungry the vegetable tastes good.

He leaves Kihyun alone but doesn't let go of him for fear of his tired legs giving in without the support, and leans closer into Changkyun's side. The boy is angrily murdering an onion with tears running down his cheeks. The sad sight is almost enough to make Minhyuk cry too (or maybe that's the onion?). He gathers enough strength in his legs to let go of both guys so he can get a tissue for the younger one.

Turning around and away from the boys, he startles at the sight of Jooheon sitting at the kitchen table. He's surprised he hadn't noticed him until now, but he really is tired and the sight of Changkyun in his kitchen (Kihyun and Jooheon's kitchen, but temporarily Minhyuk's too) was so shocking he was unable to pay attention to anything else. There's homework laid out on the table in front of Jooheon and Minhyuk would assume the frown on his face could be blamed on it, if the boy's attention wasn't focused elsewhere: namely, on Changkyun and Kihyun and the space between them Minhyuk just occupied.

"Hi," Minhyuk says, succeeding in startling Jooheon out of whatever trance he had been in. The angry look melts from his face, but the dimples don't appear as Jooheon grumbles something unintelligible in response and goes back to his homework.

Minhyuk decides to leave him alone for now and grabs a tissue from the box on the table, then returns to Changkyun's side. Grabbing the younger's chin gently in one hand to hold it steady, he uses the other to dab the tissue at the tears.

"Don't be sad," Minhyuk says. "Kihyun always makes me cut the onions too. It's his way of showing he likes you."

"That is not true," Kihyun says.

Changkyun places a hand on top of Minhyuk's on his cheek, looking up at him through eyelashes wet with tears. "I like you too. Wanna cut the rest?"

"Thank you, but I like you more than you like me." Minhyuk catches the younger boy's hand in his own and steers it back to the knife, curling his fingers around it. "I know the onion is safe in your hands. It's a worthy end to its life. I'll pray for its pleasant ascent into onion heaven from over there." Minhyuk points towards the table and with one final pat to Changkyun's cheek he leaves him alone at the cutting board to sit down next to Jooheon.

The frown is back on Jooheon's face but it is focused on his homework this time. If the homework had ever been alive, the boy's angry glares would have killed it a thousand times over. Minhyuk might have to pray for the homework too. There's a lot of killing going on in this kitchen.

Minhyuk isn't sure what to do; he isn't used to this Jooheon. If the boy doesn't avoid him, he is usually embarrassed or shy or both. This is new, uncharted territory and Minhyuk is not in possession of a map. If Jooheon is getting comfortable enough around him to show him other emotions, Minhyuk's glad, but he knows he doesn't like this one. He much prefers happy, smiling Jooheon to angry, glaring Jooheon.

"Stuck?" he asks, pointing at the homework.

The glare is redirected to Minhyuk and he feels like he's trespassed on an enemy's territory. He would really need that map right about now, to figure out how to get out of here. His survival instincts tell him to smile to show the boy he's come in peace. To his relief it works; Jooheon's glare evaporates like steam, leaving a neutral expression behind.

Kihyun and Changkyun's voices as they chat provides background noise, but all of Minhyuk's attention is on the boy in front of him, patiently waiting for him to either say or do something. Jooheon looks back at him for several moments, until he smirks and slides the homework in front of Minhyuk. "Do you even know how to do it?"

There are numbers on the page. And letters. Minhyuk can do numbers — when he's shopping. And it's not like he's illiterate. He just doesn't do numbers and letters together. He knows he's solved something similar at some point, but he cannot for the life of him remember how he ever managed to do it. "I never said I'd help you."

Jooheon snorts out a laugh and Minhyuk's smile grows wider as a result. It's not often Jooheon laughs in his presence and even more seldom is Minhyuk the cause of it. If it was anyone else he might be offended that they laughed at his incompetence, but Jooheon's smile warms him from the inside out. The fact that he managed to make a grumpy Jooheon smile is all that matters. Out of reflex or habit, Minhyuk goes to put his hand on the other's arm — just because, for no reason at all, he's a touchy person and that's what he does — before at the last moment remembering that they don't do that kind of stuff and he places it back in his lap. Jooheon catches him do it, but instead of looking relieved that Minhyuk didn't touch him, there's another look on his face. One that Minhyuk, if he was feeling optimistic, would interpret as disappointment.

 

"So who is this H.One really?" Kihyun asks, his voice raised to be heard, as he, Jooheon and Minhyuk make their way through the crowd at the venue in search of Changkyun.

Minhyuk keeps an eye on Jooheon in front of them so they don't lose him, but turns his head slightly towards Kihyun. "I've told you he's a DJ Changkyun likes."

"Since when do DJs have concerts?"

"Maybe if you pulled your head out of your books you'd realize there's a whole wide world outside to be explored," Minhyuk says, earning a glare from his friend, who chooses to change the subject,

"I can't see Changkyun. Are you sure he's around here somewhere?"

"That's because you're too short."

There's a triumphant shout from up ahead and Minhyuk sees Jooheon excitedly point somewhere between a cluster of people. "I found him!"

Minhyuk and Kihyun follow him and it doesn't take long before Minhyuk spots their friend. (Since when is Changkyun a _friend_ , by the way?)

"Is that…" Kihyun says then and Minhyuk glances at him before following his gaze to a tall man near Changkyun. The man, while young, is dancing like a middle-aged man to the current DJ's upbeat music. "Hyunwoo?"

It is. Son Hyunwoo, the guy Minhyuk dated for a few months last year. It was a mutual, friendly breakup but they've never met since and he hopes this doesn't get awkward. There's no way he'll be able to ignore Hyunwoo with him that close and even if he does, Hyunwoo will not ignore him because he's kind and polite like that. It's not like Minhyuk minds him being here since he's a nice guy, but he's never had to introduce his current boyfriend to an ex before—

Minhyuk doesn't have time to either continue that thought or correct it (Damn brain getting ahead of itself!), for before he knows it he's caught up with his group and while he's mentally debating with himself whether he should acknowledge Hyunwoo or not, the older man makes up his mind for him,

"Hi, Minhyuk!"

Jooheon's and Changkyun's heads turn in unison to look at Hyunwoo with curiosity while Kihyun looks a mixture of awkward, pained, and like he's trying not to show how much he'll enjoy watching this drama. (Minhyuk knows there'll be no drama. Minhyuk and Hyunwoo's relationship was _very_ non-dramatic, even though Minhyuk loves himself a good drama every now and then, lives for it, lives for excitement, for a challenge. Even when Minhyuk would purposely try to rile Hyunwoo up, the older would just smile back kindly and offer him something to eat so he can calm himself down, like food solves everything. Minhyuk could never hate him for it — that's just how Hyunwoo is — but he also couldn't give him the love he deserves.)

"Hi. Hyunwoo. Long time no see." Minhyuk gives the man a friendly clap on his shoulder in a way he thinks is intimate enough between ex-boyfriends, but Hyunwoo has other thoughts, going right in for a bear hug. It's warm and familiar and slightly breathtaking, but not in the way Minhyuk used to think Hyunwoo is breathtaking, once upon a time. It's also definitely friendly. However when Minhyuk manages a glance at Jooheon, the look on the boy's face says it looks anything but. But that must be his own imagination, because Jooheon has no reason to be jealous of Hyunwoo, or of Minhyuk hugging him. And if he is jealous, well, Minhyuk doesn't let his brain go there right now. He might revisit the meaning of that look and what it implies (along with Changkyun's sudden promotion in ranks to friend) later, before going to bed.

Minhyuk keeps an eye on Jooheon until Hyunwoo lets him go and the moment he is free and swaying on his feet, desperately trying to get some air back into his compressed lungs, Jooheon's expression clears up. Yeah, Minhyuk'll definitely revisit this moment later tonight. He'll leave the Changkyun issue for another night, though, because he doesn't need that boy's face disturbing him.

"Oh, hi Kihyun, I didn't see you there," Hyunwoo says then and Minhyuk pulls his mind out of the gutter to snicker at his scowling, little friend, who squares his shoulders as if it'd make him look bigger. He knows that scowl is just for show; Kihyun used to adore Hyunwoo and might have even treated him better than Minhyuk. He knows that Kihyun treated Hyunwoo to more food than Minhyuk ever did. In fact, he has a very clear memory of Hyunwoo raiding Kihyun's fridge and the latter telling him to _stop eating_ only to two minutes later be cooking up a whole feast for the man. It made Minhyuk question who out of the three of them were actually dating. Kihyun and Hyunwoo apparently lost contact after the breakup, with Kihyun claiming they were only acquaintances because of Minhyuk, but Minhyuk wouldn't mind them being friends even if he and his ex aren't. Hyunwoo probably wouldn't mind either.

"Very funny," Kihyun says, eyes rolling so far back in his head Minhyuk fears they'll get stuck there. Kihyun's next action gives his real feelings away though, as he reaches up to give Hyunwoo a hug, which the other returns even more enthusiastically than he hugged Minhyuk.

Kihyun and Hyunwoo start chatting, somehow managing to separate themselves from the rest of their group by several meters in the span of two seconds. Minhyuk doesn't dwell long on the laws of physics, because Changkyun demands his attention and asks, while openly staring at the physics-defying couple with interest, "Who's that?"

To be honest or not to be honest, that is the question, Minhyuk thinks while eyeing Jooheon. The wariness on the boy's face curiously makes it seem like one word will decide the fate of this evening and Minhyuk's enjoyment of it. Unfortunately, Minhyuk's mouth has always been more impatient than his brain, so before he can stop himself he blurts out, "My ex."

Changkyun either finds this piece of news boring or predictable or he's too much of a fan of H.One to care; Minhyuk has barely answered before said DJ steps up onto the stage and like a puppy with a short attention span, Changkyun goes right into fanboy mode before remembering to restrain himself somewhat — out of embarrassment probably. Nevertheless, he pushes through the crowd to get closer, leaving Minhyuk alone with a sulking Jooheon.

Question number two (and really, there are too many questions this evening): Why is Jooheon sulking?

A) His friends have left him alone

B) He's alone with Minhyuk

C) Hyunwoo who hugged Minhyuk is Minhyuk's ex and he's jealous

Minhyuk is tempted to answer C, but A and B sound more probable. Going to a concert requires more brain power than he ever thought it would and he might have sort of left part of his brain at home, resting up and recharging for a quiz on Monday. He peeks at Jooheon for a hint, but the boy avoids his gaze, refusing to give anything away. His expression is getting darker by the second, however. Time is ticking, Minhyuk!

"So are you also a fan?" Minhyuk asks in a try to start a conversation, but Jooheon doesn't even let on he's heard him, stubbornly staring at the skinny, gray-haired DJ on the stage, arms crossed in front of his chest. "Hey." Minhyuk grabs Jooheon's elbow, then slides his hand up his arm to his shoulder in a try to turn the boy towards him and get his attention. When he belatedly realizes he's touching him he lets go so quickly it looks like he's about to slap the younger. Incidentally, that's the sight that greets Jooheon when he finally turns to Minhyuk — Minhyuk's palm raised in the air, suspiciously close to his cheek.

To his credit, Jooheon doesn't even blink, nor back away. He just raises an eyebrow at the hand and then turns back to the stage to stare holes through the DJ's head. Seeing this as a go-ahead (he's always optimistic like that), Minhyuk lowers his hand to tentatively rest it on Jooheon's shoulder. He keeps it there for a while — unmoving and light — and when Jooheon neither tells him to remove it or steps away, Minhyuk slides it all the way across the younger's shoulders to keep his arm loosely around him. Minhyuk almost wishes it was only his imagination that Jooheon shifts next to him so that he's flush against his side; for some reason such a simple action makes him more nervous than it reasonably should.

Minhyuk swallows with some difficulty and asks as casually as he can (when what he actually wants to do is to shout with joy), "So are you a fan of H.One?"

"Kind of. Changkyun's showed me some of his stuff." Jooheon turns his head slightly toward Minhyuk when he speaks. He avoids eye contact but Minhyuk can see how red his ears are. "You?"

"It's my first time hearing him, but he's cool," Minhyuk says. He's honestly not paid any attention to the DJ, so he tears his eyes away from Jooheon's with difficulty to focus on the man on the stage for a while. He tells himself he does it so that he can honestly tell Jooheon his answer later when really he just needs to distract himself from the boy by his side before he does something he'll regret.

 

"What if I told you I want to have sex with you?"

Jooheon's eyes open wider than Minhyuk has ever seen them open before and he knows he needs to take a step back, slow down, before the poor boy flees the cafeteria and decides to never talk to him again. The progress in their relationship has been rapid since the concert, with Jooheon now being okay with Minhyuk's platonic touches above the waist (he hasn't dared venture further down as of yet), so Minhyuk thought it was high time to sit him down and have _the talk_. He just wanted to get the boy used to the idea, to the thought, of Minhyuk fucking him, or him fucking Minhyuk (and through that, Jooheon would realize that what he wants deep inside (no pun intended) is Minhyuk), not make him flee the country and accuse him of sexual harassment.

"One day," Minhyuk adds. "I would very much like to one day, in the future, some months or years from now, have sex with you."

Jooheon shifts in his seat, looking like he's gearing up to sprint outside. As if what Minhyuk's said so far is the 'ready, set' and whatever word he says next could be the 'go'. He needs to tread carefully from now on or Kihyun will stop being his friend and throw him out on the street because he mentally scarred Jooheon forever. And Minhyuk would deserve it.

"I just wanted to let you know, and you can do whatever you want with that information. I'll never force you into anything and we can remain as friends for the rest of our lives if that's what you want." He stops briefly to gauge Jooheon's reaction; both of the boy's ass cheeks are planted firmly back on his chair again, thank goodness, and his eyes don't quite have that deer-caught-in-headlights look any longer.

"However," Minhyuk says, but pauses as Jooheon twitches. When the boy doesn't move further he continues, deeming it safe enough, "However, in case you, one day, find yourself not entirely against the idea of us being more than just friends, I want you to know that I wouldn't say no. Just give me a sign and I'll… Yeah, okay, I'll stop, come back!"

Jooheon halts some steps away from their table, turning suspicious eyes on Minhyuk. Minhyuk knows that if he says the wrong thing, the boy will really be out of the cafeteria and he'll never see him again.

"At least finish your dumplings before you go?"

Jooheon turns his gaze on his half-eaten plate and takes a hesitant step back toward their table. He clearly wants the food, but to eat it, he'll need to sit down and risk being eaten by its guard dog.

Minhyuk lets out a relieved breath when Jooheon eventually sinks down to his chair and digs into his food. Thankfully, the boy seems hungry enough to sit in his presence for a while more.

Food: 2 — Minhyuk: 0

To be on the safe side, Minhyuk changes the topic of conversation to last night's soccer game and they finish their lunch without further incident. Their next classes are held in the same building, so it makes sense for them to walk there together. Minhyuk needs to use the bathroom first, though, and he raises an eyebrow in question at Jooheon. When the younger nods, Minhyuk leads the way to the bathrooms in the basement. Halfway down the stairs Jooheon stops.

"I— I don't need to go." Jooheon's face is flushed but unreadable, eyes flickering between Minhyuk and the bathroom signs at the bottom of the stairs. "I'll just go to class first."

"Really?" Minhyuk tries to interpret Jooheon's expression, but when it proves futile he glances down at the floor, wondering if maybe there's a huge, scary spider or something nearby. He wouldn't be surprised, what with the cleaners tending to neglect this part of the building—

That's when he gets it, that's when he remembers how he introduced these bathrooms during orientation week. He reaches for Jooheon, but the boy takes a step up the stairs, out of his reach. Minhyuk follows him a step at a time until he can grab the boy's arm and stop him from fleeing. "I know I talked about sex before but I really just need to pee. I'm not trying to lure you downstairs to fuck you in some dirty bathroom. You didn't really believe I'd do that, did you?"

The look on Jooheon's face as he stares back at Minhyuk is guilty and it makes the older feel even worse, for making the other think that of him, making him doubt him and his intentions. Perhaps bringing up sex this early wasn't such a good idea after all. He lets go of the boy and takes a step down the stairs, creating some distance between them.

"Forget what I said earlier in the cafeteria. Erase it from your brain. I'm gonna go pee and you can come with me or wait here or go to class first." Minhyuk turns around and walks down the stairs alone, letting the younger make up his mind on his own. He walks slow on purpose, though, and when he's opening the door to the bathroom, the other's caught up to him, slipping inside first.

 

Minhyuk thought that he and Jooheon were okay after _the talk_ , but in the evening, Jooheon very pointedly rejects his invitation to eat dinner together in the kitchen and instead brings his dinner to the room, saying he needs to study and absolutely cannot take a break to eat. Kihyun calls him a good, responsible boy, but Minhyuk sees right through him: Jooheon is awkward with him again.

Minhyuk takes his phone out at the table and Kihyun calls him bad and antisocial. Minhyuk ignores him, instead googling how long water damage usually takes to fix. Finding that the supposed damage in his apartment should be fixed about now, he shoves his phone back into his pocket. Neither Kihyun nor Jooheon has brought it up, told him to go back home already and give their couch back, but Kihyun has been giving him hints at times, although those are usually in the form of telling him to help out with the dishes or cleaning (which Kihyun always ends up doing anyway) while he lives here. Moreover, living on their couch for almost three weeks now has turned out to be a bit more inconvenient and uncomfortable than he expected. He stills needs to regularly visit his own apartment for clean clothes or stuff he needs for school that he keeps forgetting to bring. He also doesn't have his computer and he might be a bit addicted to gaming and withdrawals aren't nice. Jooheon's bare thighs when he walks around in his boxers are usually enough to get him to forget his games, but he's not blessed with _that_ view nearly often enough.

"Kihyun."

Kihyun peeks at him from over the rim of his water glass, eyebrow raised. "Sure, go ahead, talk to me whenever it suits you."

"I'm moving back home. My apartment's fixed."

Kihyun puts his glass down but doesn't say anything for a while. "Okay. It's about time, you've been here for a while. I've gotten used to your noisy ass being here."

Minhyuk laughs. "You'll be glad when I leave, then. It'll be nice and quiet for you to study."

"When are you leaving?"

Minhyuk takes a bite of his food while he thinks. He doesn't have any morning classes the next day, and he doesn't have much luggage — moving out won't take long. "Tomorrow morning."

"Both I and Jooheon will be in school then. You can leave the key in the mail after you leave." Kihyun considers him for a moment, then asks, "Have you told Jooheon?"

"Not yet."

"You should."

"You make it sound like I'm moving to the other side of the country. I'll still see you guys in school and come over to hang out so often you won't even notice I moved out."

"Still—"

"Have you heard anything from Hyunwoo?" Minhyuk asks, praying his friend gets the hint that he doesn't feel like talking about Jooheon right now. Luckily he succeeds, and Kihyun's expression lights up as he slips into a monologue about Minhyuk's ex so quickly it's as if he'd been waiting for Minhyuk to ask.

 

Minhyuk did say that he would see the guys in school and that he'd come over often, but right after he moves back home he realizes that midterms are approaching and he has half a semester's materials to catch up on in one weekend. At the same time, one of his colleagues at the coffee shop gets sick and he offers to cover her shifts, because more money is always a good thing, even if it limits his free time.

Only after midterms are over — more than a week after moving out — does he have the opportunity to tell Jooheon in person, although the boy obviously must have noticed by now that he's no longer sleeping on his couch. It seems like the younger has been avoiding him until now though, and Minhyuk suspects the reason is that he's still awkward after having _the talk_ , or that he's mad at Minhyuk for not telling him earlier about moving out. Which he tried to do, but Jooheon was avoiding him so he couldn't and—

Anyways, Minhyuk finally manages to corner the younger boy in a random hallway at school after stumbling upon him purely by chance.

"I moved out the other day."

Jooheon eyes him with his arms crossed and mouth twisted in a sneer. "Really? I didn't notice."

Okay, Minhyuk deserves the sarcasm. "I tried to tell you."

Jooheon rolls his eyes, then lets out a dry laugh. "And now you have. I'm busy, so if you could move…" Jooheon shoves him out of the way and stalks off before Minhyuk can even answer. He did not deserve that.

Something has clearly crawled up and died in the younger boy's ass and normally Minhyuk would follow him to find out what it is and perhaps inquire whether he can explore his ass instead (in the indeterminable future, that is), but right now he can't be bothered. If Jooheon wants to be pissed off at him, he'll let him. Minhyuk's got other things to do than chase after him. He's busy too, dammit!

 

Minhyuk surprises himself by ignoring Jooheon the next time he sees him around campus, especially as Jooheon approaches him and lifts his hand as if to wave at him. Minhyuk never sees the wave, because he turns a corner and enters the first door he comes upon. He ends up in an administration building — which he has no reason to be in — but if he can get rid of Jooheon this way, he'll spend the whole day here. However, as soon as he thinks that, he feels bad and he's _this_ close from walking back out to look for the boy. He's got his hand on the door handle, but retracts it.

 

It doesn't take very long for Kihyun to notice that something is not right. The third time Minhyuk turns down pizza at Kihyun's place, Kihyun brings it over to Minhyuk's apartment and doesn't leave before he gets the truth out of him. Minhyuk tells him like it is: that he's busy with school and work. And okay, maybe he and Jooheon have some problems, but it's not like they're dating, and why should Minhyuk apologize for? Jooheon's just as much at fault. Whatever problem there is will resolve itself or it won't, Minhyuk doesn't fucking care.

He ends up kicking Kihyun out but keeps the pizza. Then orders another one because he hopes that binge eating will stop him from thinking about Jooheon. It doesn't. It just makes his stomach hurt. He can hear Kihyun's voice in his mind telling him it serves him right.

 

In a well orchestrated move courtesy of Kihyun and Changkyun, on a Saturday just after Minhyuk's colleague has come back to work giving Minhyuk some of his free time back, Minhyuk finds himself alone with Jooheon in Jooheon and Kihyun's apartment after the latter lets him in and tells him to wait for him to quickly go buy an ingredient he forgot for dinner. Minhyuk has no idea what's going on. An hour earlier, Changkyun sent him a picture of himself in Busan and said that Jooheon was with him, but Jooheon's sitting on the couch watching soccer and there's no way he made it all the way here from the other side of the country in an hour unless he can teleport.

Neither of them say anything for a long while, Jooheon watching the game from the couch and Minhyuk awkwardly hovering a couple steps away. He catches Jooheon looking at him from time to time, but whenever he looks back, the younger turns away. Minhyuk stares at his phone screen and his conversation with Kihyun, but no matter how hard he glares, Kihyun's 'when you've fixed it' (Why does he keep thinking everything is Minhyuk's fault?) in response to his 'when are you coming back' doesn't change.

During a commercial break about ten minutes later, Jooheon turns to him again and doesn't look away even when Minhyuk catches his eye. "Do you wanna sit?"

Minhyuk shifts his weight from one foot to the other for another moment before walking over and sitting down on the couch, leaving a human-sized space between them. They're really back to square one, aren't they? Only this time, the roles are reversed.

"Have you been busy lately?" Jooheon asks, voice tentative and eyes darting over the room, not settling anywhere for long as he waits for Minhyuk's answer. He nods at Minhyuk's mere 'yes' he gets in response and the older can't tell whether he is disappointed or relieved. Jooheon gnaws on his bottom lip, eyes unfocused as he appears to think of something to say, or how to say it. Before he can say anything at all, the soccer game starts up again.

Even though neither of them seems to be able to focus on the game, fifteen minutes pass before Minhyuk feels Jooheon's hand on his arm, pulling at it gently. Minhyuk looks over at the boy, who hesitates for a moment then scoots closer to him. "I'm sorry."

Minhyuk gapes at him, partly because of his unexpected apology and partly because he's now right by his side, invading Minhyuk's personal space. "For what?"

"I don't know. Whatever I did." Jooheon glances at him from out of the corner of his eye, as if afraid of Minhyuk's reaction or worried he won't forgive him.

"I'm sorry too. For whatever."

Jooheon turns a shy smile at him, eyes shining with newfound hope. Minhyuk watches him, a smile of his own finding its way easy and unbidden onto his own lips, and he realizes how much he's missed the younger's smile, how much he's missed _him_. He slings an arm around the boy's shoulders and immediately feels Jooheon melt into his side, as if he, too, has missed him.

They watch the rest of the game like that, Minhyuk's arm around Jooheon's shoulders and Jooheon's hand on Minhyuk's thigh in a way that the younger must think is casual but has Minhyuk's heart beating erratically and much too fast. Minhyuk occasionally plays with Jooheon's hair or presses his fingers into the back of his neck to massage it and the boy contentedly closes his eyes, head falling to the side to rest on Minhyuk's shoulder. Minhyuk's own eyes also start to slide shut — only to be startled open when his phone vibrates in his pocket.

**Kihyun** : Have you fixed it yet? I need to pee

**Minhyuk** : Way to ruin the moment

 

Minhyuk rings the bell to his friends' apartment and waits until he hears footsteps on the other side. They sound like Jooheon's. The door opens and he's right. He could have guessed that even without hearing them, what with Minhyuk not being Kihyun's favorite person right now. Right when Minhyuk's fixed things with Jooheon, Kihyun goes and gets mad at him. The hypocrite.

"Hi," Jooheon says, smiling.

"Hi," Minhyuk says, beaming back at him. Jooheon's smile is all he needs. Who cares about Kihyun anyway?

Said guy choses that moment to walk out of his room. He spares a glare in Minhyuk's direction, the kind he would usually save for an especially offending speck of dirt on his floor. "Who let the dog in?"

Jooheon raises his hand. "It looked so miserable outside." Minhyuk pokes his side, pouting. Jooheon swats his hand away with a grin.

Kihyun wrinkles his nose at Minhyuk, who very maturely sticks his tongue out at him in response. "You need to stop letting stray animals in."

"Do you guys have any more noodles?" comes a low voice then, and Minhyuk watches Changkyun appear from the kitchen already slurping from a cup of instant noodles, splattering red soup on Kihyun's speckless floor.

"Like that one," Kihyun says, sighing heavily. "Go eat that in the kitchen. I'll be right there, just need to have a talk with the dog."

Kihyun jerks his head at Minhyuk to follow him and Minhyuk points at himself, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Come on already." Kihyun's voice is impatient, the redhead already walking back to his room. Minhyuk reluctantly follows him, looking longingly back at Jooheon and the safety of the living room.

"I'm here as Jooheon's friend today."

"Do you want to continue being his friend?" Kihyun asks, closing the door behind them and motioning for Minhyuk to sit down on his bed. Minhyuk perches on the very edge of it.

"Yes."

Kihyun sits on his desk chair and spins it around to face Minhyuk. "Then explain yourself."

"Explain what?"

"Jooheon told me you told him you want to sleep with him."

Minhyuk's not really surprised Kihyun's heard about it, but he's surprised he's only hearing about it now, weeks after it happened. "I don't know what exactly he told you—"

"He told me everything you said—"

"Then you should know I didn't mean I would rape him or anything—"

"I know that and he knows that—"

"So why are you bringing it up?"

"After you guys made up, Jooheon told me about it."

"And?"

Kihyun throws his arms out at his sides in a wild gesture that's probably supposed to mean that Minhyuk is the most stupid, dense idiot Kihyun knows. Kihyun only manages to make himself look stupid. "What did I tell you about taking it slow? Slow does not include springing sex on him a little more than a month after meeting him. I told you he's innocent, he's inexperienced, he's not used to those kinds of advances."

"If we take it any more slowly my sex life will be on the verge of extinction just like the pandas. I'll be right up there on the top of the list with them. You know how wrong that is? Two of the most adorable species in the world going extinct, Giant Pandas and Lee Minhyuk."

Kihyun gives him an unimpressed look. "So you admit you're a different species from the rest of us and not a regular human?"

"Very funny."

"Pandas are not going extinct." Kihyun then adds under his breath, "Though I wouldn't mind you doing it." Minhyuk pretends he doesn't hear that part.

"And thank god for that. But you know why? Because they're having sex—"

"Pandas are animals so they mate—"

"Semantics."

Kihyun clamps his mouth shut and presses his lips tightly together, then spins his chair around as if he can't stand looking at Minhyuk a second longer. A minute later he spins back to face him again, features carefully schooled into a perfect execution of indifference, but his voice gives away his irritation, "I thought you said fucking him isn't your biggest priority."

"It's not, but I'd very much like to include it in our relationship at some point, which is why I decided to let him get used to the thought."

"Have you guys even kissed yet? It's too early for you to talk about sex with him."

Minhyuk rolls his eyes and leans back on his hands, looking up at the ceiling to avoid having to look at his friend's unpleasant face. "Jooheon's an adult. He knows what sex is. What's so wrong with me letting him know I think he's attractive and I want to sleep with him?"

"He's barely an adult. He's a _young_ adult, and do you even know if he's gay?"

"He's never denied it."

"But have you asked?" Kihyun's voice is getting louder, every word laced with annoyance.

Minhyuk sits back up so he can look him in the eye, his own voice rising in volume too. There's no reason for Kihyun to be as pissed at him as he is. "He's never told me he's not—"

"That's not the same thing—"

"Does it matter what he is or isn't? I don't need labels — if he likes me back that's enough for me."

There's a knock on the door and then Jooheon's voice trickles in through the wood, sounding little and embarrassed. "Guys, you know I can hear you, right?"

Kihyun flails his arms out at his sides again. "Oh great! This is all your fault, Minhyuk!"

Minhyuk lets out a loud gasp of disbelief. "What is? And why is it my fault? Why's everything always my fault?"

The door opens then and Jooheon's face peeks in, the color of his cheeks matching that of his bright red track pants. "Don't fight." He avoids Minhyuk's eyes and turns to Kihyun. "Changkyun's asking for more noodles."

Kihyun shoots a final glare at Minhyuk before heaving himself up off the chair to go feed the puppy, leaving the two others alone.

"Are you guys okay?" Jooheon comes further into the room, shyly glancing at Minhyuk. His ears are as red as his cheeks. Minhyuk wants to touch them, so he does, standing up and reaching for an ear. Jooheon dips his head down and leans a bit closer, like he's embarrassed but still wants to feel the older's touch.

Minhyuk shrugs. Kihyun didn't tell him to leave Jooheon alone or go to hell or something equally lovely, so. "We will be. He's just overprotective."

If possible, Jooheon flushes an even darker shade of red, steadily approaching maroon now.

"Does it still bother you, what I said at that time?"

"No. Kihyun asked why we'd been fighting and I just told him without thinking. I—"

Minhyuk pulls Jooheon into a hug, effectively shutting him up. "I never wanted to make you uncomfortable. And I should've let you know I was moving out. Sorry."

Jooheon squirms in his arms. "I wasn't mad about that."

Minhyuk leans back so he can see his face, raising an eyebrow at him in doubt.

The younger looks sheepish as he admits, "Maybe a little. Sorry."

"It's okay." Minhyuk squeezes the younger close again before asking, "So do you guys have any more noodles?"

 

"Thanks for asking before you use it. Electricity's free," Kihyun says, sarcasm dripping from his voice the same way sweat drips from his armpits, discoloring the undersides of his t-shirt sleeves. He kicks at Minhyuk's bare foot where it's dangling off the edge of the couch he's currently lying sprawled out on. Actually, almost all of Minhyuk is bare. The only piece of clothing he's wearing is his boxers, but it's early summer and just so _hot_ today he can't be bothered with looking decent at his friend's house. Not like Kihyun cares what he wears anyway.

"Your air con's better than mine."

"I know. Just don't use it too much or pay my bills."

Minhyuk lazily shakes his head and cringes at the way sweat runs down his face and neck with the motion. "Just a while more. I feel like my liver's cooking inside me. Do you want liver for dinner? It's almost ready."

Kihyun gives him a disgusted look. "Even if I was a cannibal, I wouldn't eat yours."

Minhyuk grins up at him. "Thanks."

"I meant I wouldn't eat your liver even if I was starving and it was the last food left on earth."

Minhyuk frowns at him. "Huh? I'm too hot to understand your kind of humor. I think my brain's frying. How about scrambled brains for dinner?"

"How about no?"

The front door opens then, the sound alerting Minhyuk of Jooheon's arrival home. He unsticks his sweaty back from the leather of the couch and pushes himself further up it to hang his head upside down over the armrest so he can watch him. The boy toes his shoes off and kicks them to the side haphazardly for Kihyun to straighten up later, then grabs the hem of his t-shirt and starts flapping it up and down — revealing tantalizing, honey-smooth skin for Minhyuk to ogle at — to cool himself down.

"God, it's hot," Jooheon complains. He lets go of his t-shirt and lets it settle back down, covering his belly. Minhyuk pouts in disappointment.

"Come here," Minhyuk says, lifting both arms in the air and making grabby motions at the boy. "Come lie here with me. It's the best spot for the air con."

Jooheon seems to finally notice him in the room and Minhyuk would focus on the way the younger looks his bare body up and down, if he wasn't so fascinated with the way a stray drop of sweat runs down the side of Jooheon's face and neck before it soaks into his shirt. Minhyuk unconsciously licks his lips — because he's dehydrated, no other reason.

"No way," Jooheon finally says. "That would be way too hot."

"It's hot?"

Jooheon nods.

"I'm hot?"

Jooheon nods again, then flushes. "I mean, you're sweating. You look like you're really… warm."

Minhyuk hums and drags his eyes lazily over Jooheon's body. The heat must really be getting to his head, since he can usually restrain himself from openly checking the boy out when he's right in front of him and can see him doing it. "You're hot too."

"Right, aren't we all hot?" comes Kihyun's voice then, reminding Minhyuk that he's there in the room with them. Why is he? Minhyuk wants to undress Jooheon with his eyes, but it's awkward with a voyeur in the room.

Jooheon stutters out something unintelligible and then disappears in the blink of an eye. He's literally gone from Minhyuk's sight when he opens his eyes again. Do his eyes blink slowly? In any case, Jooheon's gone very quick for no reason at all.

"You said that out loud," Kihyun says, expression part amused and part unimpressed.

"Said what?"

"The part about undressing him."

"Oh. That part." Minhyuk's brainpower is down to the last 10%; he can't be bothered with being aghast right now.

"What else is there?" Kihyun looks like he doesn't really want an answer to that question, so Minhyuk just laughs, as suggestively as he can manage with his neck stretched over the armrest.

 

Finals approach faster than the earth spins around the sun. Minhyuk's a satellite in the exosphere, orbiting the earth with a dizzying velocity that forces him to rest his head on his desk to be able to take in what his professors are saying. In his fight against gravity he completely misses the instructions for the final papers and projects he has to complete and what he should study for exams.

He really shouldn't have played games until dawn again.

"You need to stop sleeping in class," Kihyun says, a frown on his face as he lets Minhyuk copy his notes for a class they share. "You're gonna fail if you don't start paying attention and start studying."

"I will."

Kihyun obviously doesn't believe him, if the look on his face is anything to go by. "You know what? I heard Jooheon and Changkyun are going to study for finals at our place on the weekend. You should come too and we can all study together and help each other out."

Minhyuk presses a final dot to the end of the last sentence and hands Kihyun his notes back. He picks up his triangle kimbap and bites into it, speaking while still chewing, "As much as I'd like to come, Jooheon being there wouldn't exactly be good for my ability to focus. He's more of a distraction than any game." He takes another bite of his lunch, chewing before he speaks this time, thinking the suggestion over again. He's usually not one to say no to a chance to hang out with Jooheon. "But, since you invited me, it'd be rude to say no."

"I changed my mind. Please don't come."

"Too late! You can't take it back now."

 

Kihyun eyes the large duffel bag slung over Minhyuk's shoulder as he lets him into his apartment on Friday night. Minhyuk's coming over after his shift at the coffee shop, so Jooheon and Changkyun are already bent over books at the coffee table. The brunette looks up at Minhyuk's arrival though, giving him a small wave in welcome.

"Why did you bring so much stuff?" Kihyun asks as Minhyuk drops his bag on the floor with a thud. "Don't get me wrong, if it's filled with books I applaud your commitment to your studies, but I doubt it is."

"There are some books in there," Minhyuk says, defending himself. He had brought every book he needs to (or should) study for his exams, along with his notes. And some miscellaneous stuff. Like his pajamas and toothbrush and clean clothes for the coming days and snacks. He hadn't told Kihyun he would sleep over, but he knows he won't be getting all his studying done in one night. They've only got this weekend left to study until finals start on Monday, and Minhyuk's going to take advantage of the academic atmosphere of his friends' apartment and the comforts it provides in the forms of superior air con, nutritious meals necessary for his brain to function at maximum power, and Jooheon. Jooheon's the most important benefit. Whenever Minhyuk starts going crazy from too much studying, he can look at Jooheon until he calms down and can focus on his books again. It's 100% effective in the way Jooheon will be able to improve his mood. Unfortunately, the difficulty level of keeping his eyes and thoughts off the younger boy long enough to actually get any studying done when they're in the same room, is also near 100%. Keeping himself focused on his books will require all of Minhyuk's brainpower, leaving a negligible percentage to actual memorization. He'll have to manage somehow.

"And the rest?" Kihyun asks, eyebrow raised.

"I'm dedicating my entire weekend to studying. Don't complain."

Kihyun opens his mouth as if to argue further, then casts a last look at Minhyuk's bag and moves over to the other boys where he plops down by Changkyun's side, diving right back into the textbook he had left open on the table.

The only free place left around the coffee table is next to Jooheon. Minhyuk's not sure how to feel about that. The difficulty level does shoot up to 110%, however, as he sits down next to the boy. Minhyuk wishes for a miracle, for his brain alone can't handle this; thanks to the weather, Jooheon's in a tank top and shorts, arms and legs bare. For once, Minhyuk wishes he would be fully clothed from head to toe, a bucket hat pushed low on his head and a mask covering the other half of his face. There's entirely too much bare skin too close to Minhyuk and he just needs to _touch_ —

"What are you doing?"

Minhyuk snaps his eyes up to Jooheon's face only to find the boy looking down at his own lap. Minhyuk follows his gaze and sees his hand attached to Jooheon's naked thigh. He rips it off, banging it painfully on the edge of the table. "There was a mosquito. I killed it. It's dead now."

Jooheon doesn't answer, choosing instead to lift his book up to hide his face behind it.

Minhyuk feels the weight of a stare from the opposite side of the table and reluctantly meets Kihyun's icy glare. The redhead looks pointedly at Jooheon, then at Minhyuk's books and slides a finger across his own throat, making it clear that if Minhyuk can't keep his hands to himself and obediently study, the nonexistent mosquito won't be the only thing that's dead.

 

Minhyuk lasts an hour before he decides he's deserving of a snack. Jooheon's looking tempting and delicious by his side and he's sure just one bite of the boy would satisfy him for another hour or two, but Kihyun's threat is still vivid in his mind, so he crawls over to his bag and proceeds to turn it upside down, the contents scattering out over the floor with a clatter.

Kihyun looks up at the noise, his mouth opening to comment on all of Minhyuk's stuff spread across the floor, but Minhyuk is prepared and hands his friend a snack he knows the other likes. Kihyun shuts his mouth with a huff, pretending to be mad, but Minhyuk sees his eyes light up at the sight of the package.

Changkyun doesn't react to the disturbance, face still deep in his book. Minhyuk admires his ability to concentrate and throws a small bag of chips at him, because he's a good friend and brought snacks for everyone. The bag hits the boy in the head, finally bringing a reaction out of him as he looks up, bewildered. When he spots the bag he places it within reach, munching on one chip at a time as he calmly goes back to his reading.

Jooheon's impatiently waiting for his own snack and making grabby hands at Minhyuk. Minhyuk's honestly a bit taken aback at this sudden development in their relationship but he won't say no, and is about to suggest they go snack on each other in Jooheon's room or else Kihyun will complain again, when he realizes he's holding a choco pie in his hand. He's slightly disappointed to find out that that's the snack Jooheon wants, not him, but Jooheon's face when he hands him the choco pie makes him forget what he had been thinking about a second earlier. It gets Minhyuk through another hour of studying.

 

Changkyun leaves around midnight. Kihyun insists on walking him to the bus, so Minhyuk's got fifteen or so minutes alone with Jooheon. A passed out Jooheon. He's snoring, his face squished into his textbook, wrinkling the pages. He shouldn't sleep out here like this, uncomfortably hunched over the coffee table. Minhyuk doesn't want to wake him and he would carry him to his room if he thought he could manage it, but he hasn't lifted weights in who knows how long and he doesn't want to risk both their lives by attempting to lift an unresponsive Jooheon. He has no other choice but to gently shake the boy awake.

Jooheon doesn't stir except for a weak flutter of his eyes in an attempt to wake up. Or perhaps he's attempting _not_ to wake up and slip back into dreamland.

"Let's get you into bed." Minhyuk takes a steady grip of the younger's shoulders and pulls him off the table into a sitting position. Jooheon's head lolls forward, chin to his chest. The smooth skin of his cheek is marred with red imprints of the book. He has stopped showing signs of being conscious. Minhyuk crouches down behind him, hands still on the boy's shoulders steadying him. "Hm? Jooheon?"

The boy makes a sound deep in his chest and finally lifts his head up, turning to peer at Minhyuk over his shoulder. His lips stretch in to a tired smile, eyes closing. Then he leans all his weight against Minhyuk, who falls on his ass as he catches Jooheon around the waist, letting the boy slump against his chest like a warm, oversized puppy, way too adorable for his own good and completely unaware of his own size and weight. Still, he'd love nothing more than to sit here like this the whole night, watching over the younger boy as he sleeps, but he knows he needs to get him into bed — and get some sleep himself too.

"You can't sleep here," he says, carding a hand through Jooheon's hair. It's somewhat greasy and he smells faintly of sweat, but Minhyuk's no different himself. Besides, he'd take Jooheon any way he can get him.

"I'm too tired to move." Jooheon's voice is low and rough with sleep. Minhyuk's brain translates it as sexy. He ignores it.

"I'll help you move?"

Jooheon lifts his arms up like he expects to be pulled to his feet. He's a big baby and Minhyuk's weak, unable to resist his charms. He stands up, Jooheon helping him out by sitting up on his own, and grabs the boy under his arms and pulls him to his feet. Jooheon's bare feet shuffle along as Minhyuk steers him to his room with hands on his waist. He lets the younger go only to pull the covers off the bed and when he turns back around, Jooheon's shucked his tank top. Minhyuk swallows at the sight of all that naked skin, a disobedient hand reaching out to touch before he can rein himself in. Unfortunately, he never gets to feel warm smoothness under his fingertips — Jooheon brushes past him and flops face first onto his bed, fast asleep in no time. Minhyuk pulls the covers over him, then leaves him alone to sleep (because that's what a good friend does, not because Kihyun comes home and shoots him a very meaningful look as he finds him staring at a sleeping Jooheon like some creep he totally isn't).

 

The weekend passes mostly uneventfully. Minhyuk sleeps over and Kihyun complains, saying he sleeps to long in the mornings and that him passed out on his couch disturbs the redhead's studying. Changkyun comes in the mornings and leaves in the nights and Kihyun complains, saying he should just sleep over so he won't have to waste precious time on the bus. Minhyuk complains, saying Kihyun is being a hypocrite and favoring Changkyun over him, his best friend. Jooheon eventually screams at them to shut up and let him sleep. See that Kihyun? It's past noon and Jooheon's still sleeping and Minhyuk got up at 11 and Kihyun complained he slept too long, but Jooheon's _still sleeping_ and he's not getting complained at. At this, Kihyun says Minhyuk should go wake him up then. So he does. Minhyuk walks into Jooheon's room and immediately turns on his heel and leaves because the boy's too precious when he sleeps and how could he ever wake him up when he's looking like an angel the world never deserved? Kihyun cackles at him and throws him his textbook and Minhyuk thinks that Kihyun, too, is an angel. From hell.

By Sunday night, Minhyuk's feeling pretty optimistic. He'll pass his finals for sure and he might have to thank Kihyun later for inviting him into their study group as it does seem to have had some effect on his studying. Jooheon, too, closes his books with, if not an optimistic, at least not a completely resigned expression on his face, like he accepts his fate and that he's done what he can and the finals will turn out the way they do.

Surprisingly, and to Minhyuk's infinite joy, it's Changkyun the Overachiever who is the most stressed. The boy is frantically flipping through flashcards one moment and textbook pages the next, getting a tenth paper cut on his hand as he scribbles down notes in the margins. He has studied even harder than Minhyuk, Kihyun and Jooheon combined but he still keeps muttering under his breath about how he's going to fail. At this point, Minhyuk's pretty sure that 'fail' in Changkyun's dictionary means getting a 99%. The horror. Although, Minhyuk's never gotten a 99% in anything, so he can't relate. He's never gotten a 100% either.

Kihyun tries to get Changkyun to calm down and tries to convince him to at least put his books away while he eats. Changkyun barks at him and Kihyun gives up, backing away from his bared teeth. Meanwhile, Minhyuk and Jooheon's dinner break stretches into its second hour and Kihyun comes into the kitchen to bark at them for wasting precious time, taking out his frustrations on innocent people like the devil incarnate he is, intent on ruining everyone's joy if he can't share it. Perhaps Kihyun's a bit stressed over finals too. Minhyuk and Jooheon snicker at both of their friends over their overly sweet dessert that will most likely give them sugar-induced headaches that will do nothing for their motivation to review those last couple of pages they still haven't gotten to.

 

Finals come and go and summer break greets Minhyuk in the form of a flu. It's his body retaliating for him overworking it studying. It lasts for an entire week and he makes sure to let Kihyun know how absolutely miserable he is. His head is splitting in two, his nose is blocked for good, his throat is so hoarse he can't talk, and he's freezing to death and burning up at the same time. He's basically at death's door and the only cure is Jooheon's youthful body. Kihyun doesn't believe him and feeds him porridge and pills, refusing to let Jooheon visit saying he doesn't trust a feverish Minhyuk with him. Only when Minhyuk starts hallucinating does Kihyun finally agree to let Jooheon come see him one last time, so Minhyuk can say his farewells before he passes.

Kihyun has to leave for his part-time job, so Minhyuk gets up and showers for the first time in days; there's no need to look or smell like a slob in front of Jooheon. While he awaits his visitor, he dims the lights and, when there's a knock on his door, puts on his best sickly expression.

He doesn't have to fake his cough as he opens the door for Jooheon, whose expression instantly turns worried at the sound of Minhyuk hacking up his lungs. The boy takes one look at him and — here, Minhyuk thinks he's acting an awful lot like Kihyun — steers him to his bed and tucks him in. Minhyuk had hoped they would hang out — he's not that weak and Jooheon's finally here after days of nagging Kihyun — but apparently he's too good at acting sick to convince Jooheon that it's perfectly fine for him to watch a movie, that it won't kill him to spend a couple hours out of bed. But when Jooheon starts to soothingly run his fingers through his hair while humming a song, Minhyuk stops telling him he's healthy and ups the sick act, perfectly content in the care of the boy's gentle hands. He manages to convince the younger to sit with him in bed and talk to him, and that's how Minhyuk falls asleep hours later. Jooheon's gone when he wakes up in the morning, but he's left strawberry-flavored cough medicine and a jar of honey on his nightstand. Minhyuk's ready to sign the marriage certificate. Kihyun stops him at the last moment.

 

Minhyuk had told himself not to laugh at his friends' misfortune, but as they're standing on his doormat, clothes soaked and dripping, and shaking rainwater out of their hair like dogs, he lets a snort slip. First their power gets cut off due to the storm. Then the bus for Minhyuk's place is canceled because of a flooded street. _Then_ when they're walking the whole way instead, their one umbrella gets blown away in the wind.

Kihyun scowls at him through his wet bangs. "Is this funny to you?"

Minhyuk hands him a towel so he can dry his hair, then hands another one to Jooheon. "It's pretty funny, yes."

"Thanks for letting us stay here tonight," Jooheon says, a grateful smile on his pretty lips despite him obviously not being in a state he wants to smile about.

"No problem." If it makes Jooheon flash his dimples at him like that, Minhyuk would do anything. Besides, Minhyuk's only thankful for this opportunity to have Jooheon sleeping over arising. Kihyun might be here too, chaperoning them or whatever, but that's okay. When the parent sleeps the children play, or however the saying goes.

Kihyun — obviously — shatters Minhyuk's dream, "I'll sleep on the bed with you. Jooheon can get the couch." The way he says it makes it clear he thinks sleeping on the couch is a privilege while sleeping with Minhyuk is a chore. Minhyuk hopes his eyes tell Kihyun exactly what he thinks of that suggestion. Kihyun's eyes answer by telling Minhyuk that the other option is Minhyuk on the couch and Kihyun and Jooheon on the bed. Either way, Minhyuk will not be sleeping with Jooheon.

Minhyuk gives in partly because he realizes he might have trouble keeping his hands off Jooheon if they slept together in the bed, and he wants to respect the boy. But he mostly gives in because Jooheon looks disappointed at the prospect of sleeping alone while Minhyuk and Kihyun sleep together and it makes hope rise in Minhyuk's chest that Jooheon might come to him on his own sooner than he had dared dream. And just maybe he likes to see Jooheon suffer and pout. Also, his studio is so small that his bed and couch are not that far away, so it'll almost be like sleeping with Jooheon anyway.

Minhyuk lends the guys dry clothes and takes a moment to mock the way Kihyun's slight frame drowns in the shirt he found for him. (He might have deliberately chosen his largest oversized one that's large on himself, just to see how comical it would look on his friend.) But when Jooheon comes out of the bathroom after changing, his laugh dies in his throat; the younger boy looks amazing wearing his clothes and it makes Minhyuk feel a weird sort of possessiveness.

Minhyuk lent him a tight pair of sweats just so he could salivate over the way he knew Jooheon's thighs would stretch the material, but now he somewhat regrets it. He might actually be drooling, for real. He pretends to scratch his chin while he surreptitiously wipes his thumb at the corner of his mouth. It comes back damp. He swallows down the saliva that threatens to overflow and contemplates giving Jooheon another pair of pants. He decides against it when he sees the way the sweats hug the younger boy's ass when he goes to hang his own wet clothes over the backs of Minhyuk's chairs. He wonders if taking a photo would turn him into a creep. Kihyun's pointed glare his way tells him it would. Minhyuk puts his phone back in his pocket and captures the glorious view in his mind instead, in which he can be as depraved as he likes without anyone knowing — except Kihyun. Stop staring!

Kihyun rolls his eyes at him, then says under his breath, "Stop ogling him."

"I'm not."

Kihyun's eyebrow tells him he doesn't believe him, but then again, Minhyuk's not very believable what with the way his eyes are glued to Jooheon's backside.

The youngest chooses that moment to turn back around and if he notices the way Minhyuk's eyes linger a second or two too long where his ass used to be, he doesn't mention it. His ears do turn a curious shade of pink, though.

When they settle into bed, Kihyun and Jooheon fall asleep quickly. Minhyuk stays awake, listening to Jooheon's snores, loud now that they're in the same room, compared to the time Minhyuk stayed at his friends' place. And while Jooheon's snoring isn't his most desirable quality, his relaxed, sleeping face is so pretty it more than enough makes up for it. Minhyuk wants to take a photo of it but contents himself with gazing at it through the dark and saving it in his mind, eventually falling asleep with the image of Jooheon's softly shut eyes and parted, pink lips behind his eyelids.

 

Jooheon's lips are on Minhyuk's mind for much of the coming weeks. He picks up extra shifts at the coffee shop and Jooheon gets a job at a convenience store, so even though they don't have classes, their work schedules leave little time for them to hang out and enjoy summer together. Whenever they do have time, Kihyun's usually there too, since he'll be going abroad on exchange for the fall semester. Minhyuk will never admit it out loud, but he wants to spend as much time with him as he can before he leaves.

So, since Minhyuk can't physically be with Jooheon much, he has to settle for mentally being with him instead and he spends many an hour at work daydreaming up impossible Jooheon-related scenarios that'll never come true. He's deep into one such scenario on an especially slow day, when his manager tells him he can go home for the day if he likes. Minhyuk gets his phone out to check Jooheon's work schedule that he totally didn't sneak into his room to secretly take a photo of when he was over at the boy's place the other week and Jooheon was in the bathroom, and sees that the boy will be at work for another several hours. Thanking his manager, Minhyuk changes out of his work clothes and sets off in the direction of the convenience store.

The doors slide open with a joyful ding and Minhyuk is greeted with Jooheon's voice welcoming him, although the boy himself can't be seen. As he walks over to the drinks to grab a cold bottle he spots Jooheon squatting on the floor by the boxed lunches. The boy hasn't seen him yet and Minhyuk smirks to himself as he goes to stand next to him, scanning the shelf the other's restocking.

"Are you out of tuna-mayonnaise triangle kimbap?"

Jooheon's head snaps up at the sound of his voice and he falls over on his bum, thrusting a hand out behind himself at the last moment.

"Sorry, did my blinding presence shock you?"

Jooheon huffs in pretend annoyance at Minhyuk's self-assured tone, but willpower alone can't stop his ears from changing color on their own. He digs into the crate of fresh kimbap he hasn't yet placed on the shelves and hands Minhyuk what he had asked for, their fingers grazing. Minhyuk's spine tingles. "What are you doing here?"

"My manager let me get off work early, so I decided to visit you. Also, I'm hungry."

"There are stores closer to both the coffee shop and your place than this one."

"But you're not there." Minhyuk winks, cheesy and cheap, but it makes Jooheon's face burn up. Satisfied with the younger's reaction, he spins on his heel to go to the cash register, grinning to himself.

He waits for a while and when he realizes Jooheon's not coming to take his money, he turns around to find the boy staring at him from the other end of the store, still squatting on the floor. Laughing, Minhyuk shakes his drink and kimbap at him. "I'd like to pay, please."

Jooheon scrambles to his feet and hurries up to the counter, fumbles with the scanner for a minute, drops Minhyuk's change on the floor, and all Minhyuk can do is smile stupidly at him.

He eats in the store while watching Jooheon work, then helps him out with restocking the shelves. They spend the rest of Jooheon's shift chatting, only pausing whenever there's a customer and Minhyuk watches, proud, as Jooheon handles the customers like a pro who's worked there for years, not a couple weeks.

 

Minhyuk is overcome with a strong sense of deja vu as he helps Kihyun pick out clothes to pack for his upcoming student exchange in Japan. When his friend holds up two different turtlenecks in front of him and asks him which one he should bring, he has a distinct feeling he has done this exact same thing before, in a previous life or a parallel universe.

Minhyuk eyes the clothes. He can't tell which one would look best, doesn't even have any interest in looking at warm clothes in the sweltering heat of late August, so he merely tells Kihyun to pack both. His friend is leaving on his flight tomorrow and Minhyuk can't understand why he — the always so organized Yoo Kihyun who plans his life down to the last second — has waited until the last moment to pack. It's something Minhyuk would do.

"Which of these is your shampoo?" Jooheon asks, coming into the room carrying an armful of assorted bottles.

Kihyun looks up from where he is trying to pack his neatly folded underwear in his suitcase without getting wrinkles on them. "Don't you know which one's your own?"

Jooheon regards the bottles in his arms. "I do but which one of these is yours?"

Kihyun frowns at him in confusion, looking like he thinks Jooheon's denser than viscous conditioner. "All of them. Whose else would they be if they're not yours?"

It's Jooheon's turn to frown and he meets Minhyuk's eyes for a moment. Minhyuk shrugs. "I don't know. I always assumed some were left behind by previous tenants or Minhyuk… What normal person even needs this much shampoo?"

Minhyuk snorts. "Kihyun's not normal."

Kihyun straightens up after carefully putting his last pair of boxers into his suitcase. Minhyuk wrinkles their ironed surface by carelessly dumping a bunch of t-shirts on top. Kihyun doesn't notice, busy pointing at each of the bottles in turn. "That one is for dyed hair to get the color to last longer, that one is an organic shampoo with aloe vera for a sensitive scalp, that one's just a normal one I never finished when I changed to _that_ one—"

"I get it," Jooheon says, interrupting him. "Which one are you bringing? All of these are not gonna fit."

Kihyun thinks long and hard, then picks one of the bottles and puts it down on his bed. "Go get my shower gel."

Jooheon groans. "Which one? The one with cucumbers—" Minhyuk lets out a horrified gasp at this, "or the one with a _Manly Scent for Real Men_ or—"

Kihyun grabs the remaining bottles from Jooheon's arms and jerks his head in the direction of his closet. "Help me pick out some pants. I'll get the shower stuff."

Jooheon turns despondent eyes on the closet. "I'm never helping him pack again." He makes a half-hearted effort to browse the shelf of pants, eventually pulling a pair of jeans off it and holding them up in front of himself, turning to Minhyuk. "How do these even fit him? They're tiny."

" _Kihyun's_ tiny," Minhyuk corrects him. He peers into the closet, his eyes catching on something white and yellow and soft-looking. He points at it. " _What_ is that?"

Jooheon's eyebrows go up in question. He puts the jeans down on a chair and turns back around to the closet, his gaze following Minhyuk's finger.

"The white and yellow thing," Minhyuk says. "Up there on the highest shelf Kihyun can't reach without a chair."

Jooheon spots the garment and pulls it off the shelf. It unfurls in his hands and both of them stare in awe at the onesie. Minhyuk snickers unattractively at the sight and steps closer to get a better look at it: it's designed like an egg with white on the bottom making up the shell and yellow on the top the yolk, and is surprisingly well-worn. Jooheon chuckles and holds it up higher, looking the onesie up and down like it's the first time he's seen such a thing, which it very well might be.

"I can explain," Kihyun says, entering the room with a bag of toiletries in his hand, but the two others ignore him as they start prodding at the soft material of the onesie, giggling to themselves.

Kihyun crosses his arms, miffed. "It isn't that funny. It's a character I like, okay? Don't mock it. It's comfortable!"

"I want to see you wear it." Minhyuk takes the onesie from Jooheon and thrusts it in Kihyun's hands. "Wear it, wear it, wear it!"

"No way, not after the way you both laughed at it." Kihyun's features twist with displeasure, his mouth pressed into a line.

Jooheon's not one to give up that easily. He turns on his charm, mouth in a pretty pout, and latches onto Kihyun's arm, proceeding to shake the older into submission. "Wear it, wear it!"

His pout — adorable enough that it would be able to convince Minhyuk to murder ten puppies — predictably has an effect even on stony-faced Kihyun. The redhead huffs exaggeratedly before he grabs the onesie and pulls it on, to the jubilant cheers of the others.

Jooheon lets out an exited cry at the sight which makes Minhyuk pay more attention to him than the boy dressed like an egg. In fact, he barely even spares Kihyun a glance as Jooheon pummels Minhyuk's arm with his fist, breaking into a fit of laughter that makes his dimples pop and eyes squeeze shut into crescents. Minhyuk can't take his eyes off him. He himself is grinning like a fool too, but it's directed at the boy next to him. He doesn't have the heart to tell him to stop hitting him even as his arm starts cramping.

"Okay, that's enough, keep packing." Apparently, Kihyun — always such a killjoy — has other thoughts and takes the onesie off. He hands it to Jooheon for him to put back in its place, but Jooheon, also having other thoughts, gives it to Minhyuk with a grin. Minhyuk starts to fold it up — he wouldn't be caught dead wearing it no matter how much Jooheon fires his dimple guns at him—

RIP Minhyuk. Jooheon's dimples have finally killed him. It feels like he's having an out-of-body experience as he, with a sort of detached resignation, watches himself put the egg-colored onesie on. Surprisingly, it fits him. Even more surprising is the lack of a laugh from Jooheon, his expression instead one resembling adoration.

Minhyuk's heart skips a beat and after a moment of hovering on the uncertain line separating life from death, starts beating properly again, if a bit hurriedly, when Jooheon's lips pull just a bit wider as he keeps gazing fondly at him, his dimples digging just a bit deeper into his cheeks. Minhyuk doesn't register Kihyun cackling like a chicken at him (you are what you eat, as they say); Jooheon is absolutely elated and that gummy grin is all he can focus on.

 

In another universe, Minhyuk might have bidden his friend a tearful farewell when he leaves Kihyun's apartment late in the night after the bags are finally packed for the other's departure early the next morning.

In this universe, Minhyuk takes advantage of the hug fest and hugs Jooheon longer than Kihyun — even though the brunette's not going anywhere — before the other boys notice, too caught up in saying goodbye to each other (Kihyun instructs Jooheon on cooking, cleaning and being nice to the temporary roommate who'll move in soon. Jooheon listens with half an ear.), since Jooheon will most likely still be asleep when Kihyun leaves.

 

Minhyuk's lounging on Jooheon's couch a few days later, on the last Saturday before school starts up again for the fall semester, waiting for the mystery roommate Kihyun had found to rent his room while he's in Japan. Jooheon was supposed to be home to let the guy in, but something came up at the last moment, so he ordered Minhyuk to do it instead. Minhyuk's not complaining, though, since it means Jooheon trusts him enough to welcome his own roommate.

When the doorbell rings and Minhyuk opens the door, his first thought is _damn he's built_. His next thought is that the guy's smile is gorgeous. Then he thinks that the world is unfair, because no one should be allowed to be as perfect as the guy in front of him. He must have an awful personality to go with it, there's no other explanation.

"Hi, I'm Hoseok," the guy says and holds a hand out for Minhyuk to shake. "Are you Jooheon? You're really handsome."

Minhyuk chokes a bit on a laugh at how honest and straightforward the guy is, then mutters a 'Yeah, he is' under his breath before he remembers he should probably introduce himself, grabbing the proffered hand for a shake. "I'm Minhyuk, Jooheon's friend. He couldn't be here now, but he'll be home later."

"Oh? Well, it's nice to meet you, Minhyuk." Hoseok's hand squeezes his, a goofy grin on his lips.

"It's nice to meet you too," Minhyuk says, smiling back, because it's impossible not to when faced with that row of perfect, white teeth. He steps back into the apartment to let the guy in. "Come in, I'll show you around."

 

Minhyuk feels only slightly useless as he lounges on his back on the couch while Hoseok (who has stripped down to a tight sleeveless top and short shorts that leave nothing to the imagination about the extent of his well-developed muscles) carries box after box into the apartment, but the guy was adamant that he doesn't need any help ("It's a good workout!") so Minhyuk obediently lays still, not about to insist.

Hoseok places the last box by the couch and crouches to open it immediately as if it's of utmost importance that he releases the items inside from their confinement as soon as possible, revealing a horrifying amount of workout gear and weights. Minhyuk feels healthy just looking at it all.

"You don't think Jooheon will mind me working out in the living room, do you?" Hoseok asks, already searching for suitable places around the room to store his stuff. Minhyuk weakly shakes his head in response; as he does so, he spots something out of the corner of his eye and turns to gape at an exercise bike set up by the window. When did that get here? Did it roll in on its own? And more importantly, how can he get it to leave?

"Do you work out?" Hoseok asks then, turning to Minhyuk just as the blond moves his phone to his left hand because his right was getting tired from holding it up.

"Not really."

"We should work out together some time." Hoseok must not have registered the undertone of 'I'd rather die before I lift weights' in Minhyuk's answer.

"Thanks, but—" Minhyuk is saved from having to convince the eager workout partner-recruiter by the door opening and Jooheon entering. Minhyuk lifts a hand to wave at him while Hoseok springs to his feet like an over-excited bunny from where he had been squatting by the Box of Doom.

"You must be Jooheon! It's so nice to meet you. I'm Hoseok," he says, a giant grin plastered on his face. Jooheon is taken aback and casts a panicked glance in Minhyuk's direction, which only serves to make him look more precious than is fair.

"Yes, you too." Jooheon accepts Hoseok's handshake, then glances around the living room, which has transformed into a gym in his absence.

"I tried to get Minhyuk to work out with me but he didn't seem too enthusiastic," Hoseok says, getting right down to business. Jooheon smirks at Minhyuk, obviously not guessing the continuation of that sentence. Minhyuk does, and it's with a certain sort of perverse satisfaction he watches Jooheon's smirk turn into awkward reluctance as Hoseok continues with, "What about you Jooheon? It's really easy and convenient to get some exercise in at any time, even before breakfast, with all the equipment right here."

Jooheon scans his living room-turned-gym with fear flashing across his eyes. Minhyuk can see his brain working to calculate how much longer until Kihyun comes back home and Jooheon can have his Room of Relaxation back. Hoseok's eyes are full of hope when he patiently waits for Jooheon to answer and Minhyuk knows from experience how difficult it is to say no to that face, so he takes pity on the younger boy,

"Jooheon, did you bring lunch?"

The relief washing over Jooheon's features is visible and he turns a grateful smile on Minhyuk. "No, I was thinking we could order in. To celebrate kind of? Hoseok, have you eaten? Would you like to eat with us?"

Hoseok seems to luckily have forgotten about working out at the mention of food and he's not mad Jooheon never answered him. His stomach answers for him before his mouth does, "I'm starving. Ordering in sounds great!"

 

A mere couple hours after meeting Hoseok, Minhyuk has learned two important things about him: 1) he loves to work out, and 2) he loves food more. Minhyuk is glad for that second point because otherwise he doesn't think he could like the guy.

The three of them are having an unexpectedly good time getting to know each other over lunch, partly attributed to the large variety of foods covering the table courtesy of Hoseok, who insists there is no such thing as too much food. Hyunwoo would be proud. Minhyuk should introduce them to each other, they could even work out together. There! He's got a workout buddy for Hoseok. Awesome.

Hoseok finds Jooheon adorable and Jooheon already looks up to him like an older brother and Minhyuk's glad they're getting along, although it pains him a bit that Jooheon's opened up to the older man so quickly compared to how long it took him to get close to Jooheon. He tells himself it doesn't matter and that the only thing that does is that they're close now.

"Minhyuk, you've got something…" Jooheon says, pointing a finger at the side of his own mouth.

Minhyuk sticks his tongue out the corner of his mouth in a try to lick whatever it is off but Jooheon shakes his head and points higher up. Before Minhyuk can sprain his tongue trying to reach it, Hoseok's hand is in his face, carefully wiping it away with a tissue. "Thanks."

Hoseok grins at him, biting his lower lip. "No problem."

When Minhyuk turns to Jooheon again, a look flashes across the boy's features too fast for Minhyuk to identify. Jooheon ducks his head down to his plate and before Minhyuk can ask, his attention is stolen by Hoseok, who starts chatting again.

 

Ever since befriending Kihyun a year and a half ago, Minhyuk has been a regular visitor — or uninvited cockroach, depending on who (read: Kihyun) you ask — to his abode. Tempting him with dust-free floors, a couch more comfortable than his own and home-cooked meals, it is no wonder Minhyuk likes to spend his free time there. With the introduction of Jooheon, there was one more incentive for Minhyuk to abandon his own stuffy studio in favor of the comfort of his friends' home. Things don't change much with Kihyun exchanged for Hoseok — Minhyuk still spends as much time there as before. (Things that do change are the dust free floors — no longer dust free — and home-cooked meals — no longer home-cooked. It turns out Jooheon's an even worser cook than Minhyuk and the only thing Hoseok excels in making is ramyun; they make a unanimous decision to give Kihyun's pots and pans a well-deserved break until their owner is back.)

Hoseok quickly moves up Minhyuk's mental list of good friends. (Right under Jooheon and Kihyun; move over Changkyun, what are you doing there?) When Hoseok isn't at school, showing food down his throat or working the resulting calories off, he takes time to sit down with Minhyuk and talk about their mutual interest in art or go shopping together. It's a refreshing change from Kihyun's grouchy sarcasm and constant nagging. Hoseok has an outstanding fashion sense, impressive body and a handsome face but his personality is the most beautiful thing about him. His care and concern for others, and overflowing love for everything that breathes are truly admirable.

It doesn't take many minutes in Changkyun's charming company (He was on his best behavior that day; Minhyuk had given him a treat earlier.) for Hoseok to be won over and start joking that he now has two younger brothers — Jooheon being the other. When it turns out Hoseok is old friends with DJ H.One, Changkyun is about ready to worship him and even pouts (Minhyuk has never seen Changkyun pout before. It's terrifying.) and promises to go to the gym with him until the older agrees to introduce him to the DJ. (Minhyuk knows Changkyun will slither his way out of that promise and Hoseok won't care — he just wanted to see Changkyun act cute.)

Kihyun's been gone for a month and Minhyuk's barely noticed, since everything is pretty much the same as before with his friends being friends with each other and often hanging out in Kihyun and Jooheon's apartment. Kihyun's name has just changed to Hoseok and he's gained some weight and muscles. Of course, Minhyuk misses him at times, when he sneezes and a cloud of dust blows off the coffee table, or when yet another meal consists of nothing other than instant noodles. Luckily there's internet and Minhyuk bombards him with texts when he's feeling lonely until Kihyun tells him to stop.

 

"I didn't know you were coming over," Jooheon says, holding the front door open for Minhyuk. He steps aside to let him in, but Minhyuk stays out in the hallway.

"I'm picking Hoseok up. We're going out." Jooheon looks to be fresh out of the shower and his towel-dried hair is sticking up in weird places. Minhyuk leans into the apartment to pat his hair down, the sound of footsteps approaching making him drop his hand back to his side to greet Hoseok.

"Hey, you ready?" Hoseok steps into his shoes before even waiting for an answer. He turns to Jooheon, whose face is carefully blank as he looks between the two of them. "We'll probably eat dinner outside. No need to wait up for us." He lovingly pinches Jooheon's small nose, but the younger boy scowls and swats his hand away, stomping to his room and slamming the door behind himself.

Minhyuk gazes after his hunched back, now obstructed by the door, fingers worrying his lower lip. Jooheon's been in a bad mood lately but whenever he asks he blames it on school. It's true midterms are coming up, but Jooheon's never been bothered much about tests before, at least not enough to lash out at everyone he sees.

"You ready?" Hoseok asks, bringing Minhyuk out of his thoughts. Nodding in response, he's led down the hall by Hoseok, a friendly arm thrown across Minhyuk's shoulders.

Hoseok wants his help picking out a new pair of pants and they walk around town visiting stores and trying clothes on. It's mostly Hoseok trying on pair after tight pair of jeans, but after a while Minhyuk gets bored and tries some clothes on himself to spend the time he would otherwise spend waiting. The older boy tries on a wide variety of styles — light and dark, ripped and non-ripped — but they all have one thing in common: they have to be as tight as they possibly can. And Minhyuk can't blame him; if he had legs and ass like Hoseok, he'd show it off too. Which reminds him of another guy with a glorious backside. He should try to get Jooheon to wear skinny jeans more often. For science or whatever. Minhyuk's very much into science. Especially biology, the human body. Jooheon's body.

"What do you think?"

Minhyuk brings his attention back to Hoseok and Specimen #54. They look similar, if not identical, to Specimens #3, #14 and #35.

"Do they make my ass look big?"

The jeans certainly accentuate his ass and thighs, but that's the point, no? Minhyuk tells him as much and Hoseok pouts, looking concerned.

"Are my thighs too thick? Do you think I need to diet? I'm gonna lose weight."

Minhyuk hurries to reassure him that no, Hoseok's perfect the way he is, there's no need for those depressing thoughts. He even grabs his ass to make his point ("See? Perfect.") because drastic measures are needed or else he's afraid Hoseok will start crying in the middle of the store. One thing Minhyuk wants less than having to take care of a grown man crying in public because he thinks his ass is too big, is the guilt that would come with it of knowing he is the cause.

"Thanks," Hoseok says, a shaky but sincere smile on his lips. "Should I get these jeans?"

"Yes."

"Are you gonna buy anything?"

Minhyuk moves over to the sweaters, running a hand over the soft material of a particular item he had been eyeing earlier.

"It isn't really your style," Hoseok says, coming up to stand next to him. "But it's not bad."

It really isn't, but Minhyuk knows exactly who it'd suit, someone whose birthday is in a few days. He picks the sweater off the rack and brings it to the cashier.

They decide to get pizza after and Minhyuk wonders if he should get an extra pizza for Jooheon. He then remembers Hoseok is the one who lives with the boy and that it doesn't make sense for Minhyuk to bring a pizza home to someone he doesn't live with.

 

Jooheon's birthday falls on a Saturday. Minhyuk finds out through none other than Changkyun that Jooheon's spending the day with his parents and then celebrating with friends at home in the night, and that Minhyuk is welcome to attend if he wishes. He doesn't hear anything about the birthday plans from Jooheon and Minhyuk's honestly disappointed that the younger might not want to spend the day with him, which Minhyuk had planned on doing since several weeks back, when he found out when his birthday is. Unfortunately — although he tried — he's unable to change his shift at the coffee shop with anyone else, and forced to work until late at night.

It is past 11 PM when Minhyuk finally stands outside Jooheon's door, sweaty from having run from the bus. He takes a moment to catch his breath and fix his wayward hair, then rings the bell. Hoseok opens, a surprised look on his features as the takes in Minhyuk standing there with a present in his hands.

"The party's already over," he says. "Jooheon said he's tired and went to bed."

Minhyuk looks around the empty living room, and true to Hoseok's words, there's no sign of a birthday party having ever happened. The apartment is silent and Jooheon's door closed, a sight Minhyuk's become used to lately. "Is he asleep?"

Hoseok shrugs. "I haven't seen him for an hour."

Minhyuk doesn't want to go home before he's seen the boy and at least wished him a happy birthday. Earlier in the day he thought about calling or texting him, but decided against it, wanting to tell him in person instead. He toes off his sneakers and walks up to the boy's door, knocking softly. "Jooheon? It's me."

There's no answer, so he opens the door and peeks inside. Jooheon is sitting on his bed, on top of the covers, and fully clothed. His phone is in his face and he doesn't look up even when Minhyuk steps inside and closes the door behind him, singing a birthday song.

"Happy birthday, Jooheon!"

No reaction.

Minhyuk has to take the phone away from the other to get him to pay attention, and even then Jooheon just stares straight forward, a displeased frown on his face, mouth unsmiling.

"Happy birthday?" Minhyuk says again, accidentally turning it into a question, which earns him a sneer from the younger. At least he finally got his attention.

"Hm," Jooheon says, going back to staring at the wall. He doesn't look very happy.

Minhyuk sits down on the edge of the bed and hands the boy his present along with a card. Jooheon pretends he isn't curious as he takes them from the older's hands, but Minhyuk spots the corners of his mouth twitching upwards.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier. I was stuck at work," Minhyuk says, motioning for the younger to open his present. Jooheon doesn't wait for further instructions. "But I'm here now. Better late than never?"

"I guess," Jooheon says, but his focus is on the pink knit sweater he holds up in front of him.

Minhyuk watches Jooheon's features soften completely. "Do you like it? It's not much but—"

The boy's dimples are prominent when he turns to Minhyuk. "Yes, thank you."

Minhyuk beams at him, happy that Jooheon is happy. "Try it on, see if it fits."

Jooheon lowers the sweater to his lap and starts carefully folding it back up. "I'm sure it does."

Minhyuk shakes his head and grabs Jooheon's wrists, lifting his arms above his head. "Come on, just try it on quickly. I wanna see how it looks on you." Jooheon tries to stop him, but Minhyuk's got the element of surprise on his side and manages to grab the hem of the hoodie Jooheon's wearing and wrestle it off him. As he does, it registers somewhere in his brain that he's undressing Jooheon in bed. Jooheon must have a similar thought process, for he blushes profusely. The boy pulls the new sweater on in a second.

Jooheon looks unfairly good in pink. Minhyuk's known that since the first time he saw him and he might have bought him a pink sweater just so he would get to see him in that color more often. But Jooheon in pink should be a thing, a whole concept. Jooheon in pink is so lovely Minhyuk leans over to press a kiss to his cheek. It turns pink afterward and Jooheon dips his head down to fiddle with his birthday card. He traces the outlines of a playful dog chasing a bee with his index finger.

"Did you draw this?"

Minhyuk nods in response.

"It's good," Jooheon says, admiration in his eyes as he gazes at the card, a soft smile playing on his lips.

"Thanks."

"Changkyun got me cake. Do you want some?"

Minhyuk nods again. Jooheon places the card on his nightstand as carefully as if it was made of china, then crawls off the bed and leads the way to the kitchen. Half of the cake is left. They don't bother with plates, just get a spoon each and dig in. They stay up chatting until long after the cake is finished, Minhyuk unwilling to go home and Jooheon equally unwilling to go to bed.

 

Midterms come up not long after Jooheon's birthday and they decide to study at the younger's place. Changkyun is there too, not as stressed over midterms as he had been over finals, but stressed enough that he's chewing through his pencil and spitting pieces of wood on the floor.

"I don't understand anything." Hoseok flops down on the floor and flails his limbs like a dying fish or a toddler throwing a tantrum. Minhyuk looks over and sees that the older is still on the same page of his textbook that he was half an hour earlier.

"Why did you even take Japanese when you clearly hate it?" Minhyuk asks. He flips through the beginner level book, reading it with ease.

Hoseok groans into the floor. "I don't hate it. I needed a foreign language and I thought Japanese would be easier than Chinese but I suck at languages."

Minhyuk pats his ass consolingly. "You want me to help you?"

Hoseok looks up at this, hope shining in his eyes. Or perhaps those are tears of desperation. "You speak Japanese?"

"Yeah." He's not fluent, but he's pretty good, having taken Japanese classes since high school.

Changkyun's mouth drops open and his pencil falls out, rolling away on the floor. He shoots off after it like a dog chasing a stick. Apparently there's _something_ that can break the boy's focus. Minhyuk doesn't think his admission that there actually is something school-related he is good at deserves quite as shocked an expression as Changkyun sports, however.

Hoseok jumps up like a revitalized Duracell bunny and tackles Minhyuk to the floor in a hug. "I love you," he says, laughing loudly.

"I love you too," Minhyuk breathes out, struggling under the other's larger and heavier body. He reaches around his waist to slap his ass, then half-heartedly pushes him off.

"You should have told me earlier," Hoseok says, sitting up and grabbing his Japanese book with a grin.

Minhyuk's never been the type to go around and tell everyone he speaks Japanese unless it somehow comes up in conversation. "There was never an opportunity for it, I guess."

He sits up and it's then that he spots Jooheon standing inside the front door, seemingly frozen in place and staring between Minhyuk and Hoseok. Minhyuk raises a hand to wave at the boy, happy to see him finally home, but the younger turns around and leaves, the sound of the front door closing loud and still echoing in Minhyuk's head minutes after Jooheon's gone. He looks around the table at his other friends: Changkyun's concentration hasn't been broken, and Hoseok is reading his book with an eagerness Minhyuk hasn't seen on his face since they started studying. Minhyuk must be the only one who had seen the look on Jooheon's face just before the boy turned around. He can feel the hurt in it reflected in his heart and he doesn't even know why Jooheon's sad in the first place, or why it effects him so. He sends the younger boy a text asking where he's going and if he's okay. He gets no answer.

 

"I haven't seen you in a while," Changkyun says on a rare visit to the coffee shop Minhyuk works at. (Probably his first visit; Minhyuk's seen him with coffee from a rivaling chain multiple times, sipping it in front of Minhyuk on purpose.)

Minhyuk sweeps an eye over the people in the shop but fails to spot Jooheon. He hasn't seen _him_ in a while, not since before midterms when the boy had stormed out without a word. (He had only answered Minhyuk's texts hours later, saying that he's going to study at the library until midterms start. Minhyuk then decided to study at home, because there was no reason for him to study at Jooheon's place if Jooheon wasn't there.) "Really? I see you often enough."

"Yeah. I mean, you and Hoseok are practically attached to each other like conjoined twins these days. I'll have two americanos."

"That's not true," Minhyuk says, laughing lightly. It is true he's been hanging out a lot with Hoseok lately because they're friends and Minhyuk's other good friends are either, a) abroad or, b) too busy to see him. And Minhyuk's a social person who craves human interaction. He starts to enter Changkyun's order in the machine before pausing, a finger hovering over the screen. "Two?"

Changkyun rolls his eyes like Minhyuk's being especially obtuse today. "Yeah, one for me and one for Jooheon. Remember him? Lee Jooheon? Does his name ring a bell?"

Minhyuk cranes his neck and squints his eyes to peer outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows on the opposite wall. "I don't see him."

"That's very typical of you lately, isn't it? You not seeing him." Changkyun glares at him for a while, in a way that reminds Minhyuk an awful lot of Kihyun. "Where's my coffee?"

Minhyuk wants to tell him that _he_ is the one who wants to see Jooheon, and _Jooheon_ is the one who comes up with some bullshit excuse every time he asks him to hang out, and he really wishes he knew what's going on. He doesn't tell him, though, as it's none of Changkyun's business, and even if Changkyun knew — which Minhyuk doubts he does, since he's blaming Minhyuk — he probably wouldn't tell him, since Changkyun is Jooheon's friend and not Minhyuk's. He points the boy in the direction of his colleague who's preparing the coffees. "Please wait over there, sir."

Changkyun doesn't spare him a glance when he leaves, not that Minhyuk would have noticed even if he had; Hoseok texts him at that moment to ask him if he's free after his shift ends and wants to come over for a night of Netflix and ramyun. Minhyuk accepts, hoping Jooheon will be home so he can talk to him. It really has been too long since he's gotten to hang out with the boy and he misses him.

 

Minhyuk's in luck. When Hoseok opens the front door for him, he hears another door in the apartment close. It reminds him of when he just started getting to know Jooheon, months ago. Minhyuk takes off his shoes and hangs up his jacket, never taking his eyes off the younger boy's door. "Did you ask Jooheon if he wants to join us?"

"Huh?" Hoseok says, already on the way to the couch, on the coffee table in front of which are placed two cup noodles. "I did, but…"

'He declined,' is what Hoseok's not saying. A frown mars his forehead as he watches Minhyuk with concern. He's obviously noticed that something's up with Minhyuk and Jooheon, but he's never said anything and neither has Minhyuk. And Jooheon, well, he doubts he's said anything either. At least Minhyuk hopes so — if Jooheon's upset about something he wishes he would come to him first before going to Hoseok.

"I'll ask him," Minhyuk says, going to knock on his door. "Jooheon?"

There's some rustling from inside the room, then a, "What?"

Minhyuk hadn't expected an answer, so it takes him a moment to remember what he wanted to ask, "Hoseok and I are gonna eat dinner and watch a movie, do you wanna join us?"

Another several seconds of quiet, then, "I have a paper to write."

"Can I come in?"

Silence.

Minhyuk takes it as a yes.

Jooheon's watching videos on Youtube, his desk empty but for his laptop, no coursework to be seen.

"Where's your paper?"

Silence.

Minhyuk leans down and throws his arms around the boy from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder. Jooheon tenses in his arms. Minhyuk tries not to let it hurt him and says, "There is no paper." Jooheon doesn't answer so Minhyuk blows into his ear until the boy squirms and grumbles in annoyance. "Won't you hang out with us? Watch a movie? Please?"

Jooheon shrugs to get Minhyuk off him, but the older just hugs him tighter, afraid that if he lets go now, it'll be another several weeks before he gets to touch him again. Jooheon stops struggling, but his voice is still cold, irritated, and what Minhyuk can see of his face is closed-off. "I'm watching a movie right now."

"It's not the same thing." Minhyuk slides a hand down Jooheon's front to pat his belly. "And you're hungry, right?"

"I just ate."

Minhyuk sticks his lower lip out in a pout and grinds his chin into Jooheon's shoulder, causing the younger to yelp in pain. Over time Minhyuk's learned that tempting a grumpy Jooheon with food has a 90% success rate, so he doesn't give up yet, "Come on, eat with us. I miss you. We don't bite." He punctuates his sentence with a nibble to Jooheon's sweater-covered shoulder. It tastes of cotton, but it'll have to suffice for now. (Minhyuk wouldn't hesitate to bite Jooheon if he let him. He can think of a few places that look especially appetizing: his neck, for starters. Then his waist and hips for the main course, and thighs for dessert. The boy, even while sulking, is a full-course meal and Minhyuk hasn't had dinner yet.)

The boy shudders under his mouth, his voice coming out as a whine as he says, "You said you wouldn't bite."

Seeing a crack in Jooheon's armor, Minhyuk launches a second attack before it's too late and the other's repaired his shield. He grabs the boy around the neck with his arm, breathing into his ear as he lowers his voice a notch. "I might if you don't eat with us."

Jooheon blushes to the tips of his ears so his valiant attempt at sounding annoyed is commendable. "I really just ate, for real, Minhyuk. I'm not hungry."

"I brought dumplings. The kind you like."

Silence.

Jooheon steadfastly stares at his laptop screen, even as the video he had been watching ends.

Minhyuk pats his belly some more, leaning his head against Jooheon's. "Hm?"

Jooheon makes it look like it's physically difficult for him to agree to eat _only one_. He gets up with an exaggerated sigh and follows Minhyuk into the living room, muttering under his breath something along the lines of how he only agreed to eat because it would be a shame to waste good food, not because he actually wants to. Minhyuk takes his words with a grain of salt.

Food: 3 — Minhyuk: 0

It's a good thing Minhyuk had the foresight to buy one box of dumplings for himself and Hoseok to share and one box for Jooheon, for the youngest — although already having eaten — digs in and doesn't stop until he's finished every last dumpling. When he puts the empty box back on the table with a satisfied little burp, Minhyuk throws an arm around the boy and pulls him to his side before he can run away to his room. Fortunately, Jooheon doesn't need much convincing, obediently staying by his side through the end of the movie. Hoseok excuses himself to go to bed when it ends, but Minhyuk turns on another one and is delighted when Jooheon stays, melting further and further into him the more Minhyuk plays with his hair, movie playing neglected on the TV.

"Please stop avoiding me," Minhyuk says when he thinks Jooheon's fallen asleep, voice low so as not to disturb him.

His voice must have been loud enough to wake him, or Jooheon wasn't asleep to begin with, because he answers, "I'm not avoiding you."

"Yes, you are. I haven't seen you for weeks."

"I've been busy."

"With what?"

Jooheon doesn't answer, choosing instead to turn his attention back to the movie. Minhyuk decides to watch it too, although he has no idea what's going on. He has missed too much of it, Jooheon infinitely more fascinating in his eyes.

Minhyuk's got some understanding of the plot fifteen minutes later, when Jooheon finally speaks, his voice soft and vulnerable, hesitant, "Is something going on between you and Hoseok?"

Sitting so close to each other, Jooheon's voice is loud in Minhyuk's ear, so even if he tried there's no way for him to hear him wrong. He still thinks he must have misunderstood — he has no idea how Jooheon could ever think he likes Hoseok when he's been trying so hard all this time to get Jooheon. He has to lean away a bit to look at him; the boy avoids his eyes but is otherwise serious, mouth in a straight line. "What?"

"You heard me."

"No."

A glance through narrowed eyes. "No what?"

"Hoseok and I, no."

Jooheon turns to him, his face unreadable but his eyes unsure, like he doesn't fully believe him. Like he's afraid of believing him in case he's not speaking the truth. Minhyuk shakes his head then nods, not really knowing what he's doing or what's going on. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see the main characters of the movie caught in a passionate kiss. Jooheon's expression goes from being unsure to nervous but there's a determined glint in his eyes as he leans subtly closer—

Minhyuk turns his attention back to the movie, hand slipping down to his lap from Jooheon's shoulder to grasp his other one. His heart is beating out of his chest and he bites his lower lip hard in a try to compose himself. He really has no idea what he's doing.

He feels more than sees Jooheon settle back against the couch cushions. They're still close, close enough to touch, but neither of them do. Minhyuk continues watching the movie, uncomprehending, and when it ends, leaves. Jooheon tells him to be careful on his way home, his expression withdrawn and tone reserved.

 

Minhyuk's birthday is on a Saturday, the perfect day of the week for having a big party. That's what he might have done a year ago — invited all his friends and acquaintances despite his studio being too small for a big crowd. This year, there's only one person he wants to spend his birthday with, but when he last saw him a couple days ago, well. Minhyuk's heart still goes into overdrive whenever he thinks about the way Jooheon had leaned closer only for Minhyuk to stop everything before it could even start. He beats himself up for that every night when he lies awake staring at his ceiling, contemplating his own existence in the universe, so tiny and insignificant. He's but a mere dot. A dot who manages to continually fuck things up. He must have been the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs in his previous life.

He's not sure he would be able to function properly on his own with Jooheon, so in the end he also invites Hoseok to his birthday celebrations. And Changkyun, but only because the younger invited Minhyuk to Jooheon's party.

Jooheon's the one who shows up first. Minhyuk breaks out into a cold sweat when he opens the door for him. He invited the other two guys precisely for this reason — the prevent him from having to be alone with Jooheon! He can't make Jooheon wait outside until the others come, though, so he lets him in, carefully watching his expression. Jooheon looks mildly uncomfortable as he meets his eyes, but then steels himself and plasters a smile on his face. It doesn't reach his eyes, but it's better than nothing.

Jooheon opens his mouth and manages to get the beginning of a word out before he spots the tall stack of pizza boxes on the table, and the rest of his words turn into a laugh. A genuine laugh. "You should have just had your party at a pizza place. I don't think I'll ever want to see pizza again after tonight."

Minhyuk gapes at the traitor. "What did you just say?"

Jooheon whips his head around at Minhyuk's shocked tone, a question in his eyes and his usually smooth forehead wrinkled.

"People who don't appreciate pizza can leave," Minhyuk says, pointing to the door. He's joking, of course (Well, partly. He'd never kick _Jooheon_ out.), and he lets the boy know with a playful wink when the other glances in the direction of the door. He decides to change the topic before it gets awkward again, "Did you get me a present?"

Jooheon shuffles over to where he hung his jacket to pull an envelope from its pocket, then holds it out for Minhyuk, eyes avoiding his and ears heating up. He manages a tiny smile but his voice shakes as he says, "Happy birthday."

Minhyuk grabs the envelope but Jooheon doesn't let it go. He looks up, eyebrow raised in question, just as the younger presses a kiss to his cheek before hastily letting go and stepping back, face beet red.

The envelope sails to the ground.

Minhyuk clutches at the wall lest he also falls to the ground when his knees give out. He thinks he might faint.

A knock on the door saves him and he flies at it to let Changkyun in. Never before has he been this glad to see the boy. Minhyuk takes him into his arms, mostly because his legs are still weak, but also because he needs to act natural. He doesn't need Changkyun to suspect anything.

"What's going on?"

Okay, so maybe Minhyuk's not acting that natural after all.

"Why are you hugging me?"

Minhyuk tries to put his weight on his legs again. They work. He lets go of Changkyun. "Can't I hug you? It's my birthday and you're my beloved friend!"

Changkyun looks mildly freaked out. "Jooheon, what's wrong with Minhyuk?"

Minhyuk glances over his shoulder and briefly meets Jooheon's eyes from the other side of his studio, where the boy is engrossed in a dictionary he's holding upside down. His face is still red. He shrugs in answer.

"Okay," Changkyun says, letting the word linger between the three of them, the doubt turning into dust that settles like a film over the surfaces of the room only to be disrupted by the whirlwind-like arrival of Hoseok.

"Happy birthday!" Hoseok pulls Minhyuk into a quick, back-breaking hug and then thrusts a present into his hands, restlessly shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he urges Minhyuk to open it before he's even had time to take off his jacket.

He's gotten Minhyuk a new set of paint brushes, one that Minhyuk remembers telling him about. Minhyuk's in the middle of thanking him when he remembers the envelope, lying forgotten and unopened on the floor in the dust Hoseok didn't stir up. He puts down Hoseok's present and bends to pick Jooheon's up, brushing it off. Jooheon shuffles to his side to watch him open the flap and pull out a gift card for games.

"It's not much, but I didn't know what to get you, so." Jooheon eyes search Minhyuk's face for a reaction, teeth worrying his lower lip.

"No, thank you. I already know what I'll use it for." Minhyuk pulls the boy into a one-armed hug, assuring him he likes it with a gentle caress of the other's cheek.

Jooheon's blush that had barely faded flares up again. He takes the gift card and turns it around, revealing a hastily scribbled link on the back of it. He avoids Minhyuk's eyes as he says, "It's not exactly a present, but I've uploaded some songs on this site. I haven't told many people, but you can check them out. If you want."

"You've recorded songs?" Jooheon's often told him about his interest in music, but he always made it sound like he enjoyed listening to it, not actually making it. Then again, he's often caught him rapping to himself or singing under his breath, and Minhyuk's always thought he has a great voice.

"It's no big deal. Just a hobby. You don't have to listen," Jooheon says, the words tumbling out of his mouth in haste. He stuffs the gift card in the back pocket of his jeans as if he regrets writing the link on it and wants to hide it.

But it's Minhyuk's. Jooheon's already given it to him, he can't take back his present. Minhyuk thrusts his hand into Jooheon's pocket to slide the card out, only he realizes, once his hand is inside, it's the wrong pocket. Instead of cool, hard cardboard, his hand is met with the delicious flesh of Jooheon's right ass cheek, warm through the material of his jeans. His movement is restricted by the pocket, but he manages to curl his fingers a bit to grip it, resulting in a small whine that starts deep in Jooheon's chest and travels up Minhyuk's arm to punch him in the lower stomach. The boy takes a step closer to Minhyuk, their sides brushing, and looks up, ears red and tongue peeking out to wet his lips as he meets Minhyuk's eyes. Minhyuk swallows thickly, feeling his own face heat up at the same rate as Jooheon's as he slips his hand out of the pocket and palms the younger's ass, lets his fingers splay out as he slides his hand up to rest on the boy's lower back, pulling him just a bit closer—

There's a very pointed clearing of a throat, and then Changkyun's voice, "So what's up with all the pizza?"

Minhyuk and Jooheon jump apart faster than Changkyun can finish his sentence, the blond teleporting next to the stack of boxes and ripping the one on top open. "Let's eat!"

Halfway through the third box of pizza, Kihyun texts Minhyuk to wish him a happy birthday and Changkyun remembers he got Minhyuk a gift, handing him a pair of unwrapped gloves with a half-hearted shrug of his shoulders. Minhyuk pulls him into another hug, smirking when the younger boy turns his head away to hide his smile. He's such a cute little thing. (Changkyun? Cute? Houston, we have a problem. Requesting immediate assistance. The engine is failing and reparation is necessary.) Minhyuk pushes Changkyun away and turns to Jooheon, who is slowly chewing on a piece of pizza, laughing when Hoseok says something funny. See? There's the definition of cute.

The rest of the night is spent playing games and challenging each other in karaoke and Minhyuk's happy. It's a great birthday; he's got his friends here, and pizza, and it's fun. But whenever he's near Jooheon he becomes aware of a certain tension between them, and he distances himself from the younger, goes to annoy Changkyun or joke with Hoseok. It's easier that way. With them he doesn't have to think about how he touches them, because it doesn't matter. He ruffles Changkyun's hair or squeezes Hoseok's bicep and it's friendly and they don't care. It doesn't mean anything.

He takes a break to drink a glass of water, watching from where he's leaning against the wall as Jooheon and Changkyun belt out a song that's too high-pitched for them, wondering when touching Jooheon started to mean something more.

 

Minhyuk is so focused on his computer game it takes several minutes of his doorbell ringing loudly before he registers the sound. Pulling his headphones off his ears, he squints through the dark to check the time on his wall clock, the bluish light from his screen the only light in his room. It's past midnight. He could have guessed that, what with the sun having long set and his stomach growling with hunger (When did he last eat?) and his eyes being strained from too much gaming.

The doorbell rings impatiently again so he gets up, flicking on the lights and squeezing his eyes shut in pain at the sudden brightness assaulting them before he opens the door, forgetting to check the peephole first — it's late at night and he's not expecting anyone, what if someone's here to murder him?

The moment he's got the door open a crack, the person on the other side pushes it wide open, manhandles Minhyuk out of the way, stumbles inside, and—

Minhyuk doesn't know what they do after that. His eyes still haven't fully adjusted to the light and he's too busy crouching down into a ball on the floor screaming 'don't kill me' at the top of his lungs to watch the serial killer pull a gun on him. He screams, until the killer covers his mouth with a hand, closes the door, trips over Minhyuk's outstretched leg, and falls flat on his face.

Minhyuk musters up enough courage to peek one eye open and takes in the familiar form of the person on the floor next to him. He reaches out to slap his ass in retaliation because Jooheon scared him to death and Minhyuk doesn't get scared easily, so it's really a feat that deserves punishment. He slaps it, twice. Thrice. Grabs it because it's right there. He doesn't let it go. He doesn't think he can. He doesn't have superpowers and letting go of Jooheon's glorious bottom requires superpowers or Changkyun's ill-timed cough and Changkyun's not here right now.

Jooheon stirs when Minhyuk squeezes his ass but not enough to dislocate his hand. At this point, he might have to amputate it. It has possibly fused with Jooheon's supple flesh. The younger turns his head to peer at Minhyuk through bleary, unfocused eyes. "What are you doing here?" he asks, his voice muffled by the floor. Minhyuk winces at the way his lower lip drags along the hardwood. He can't remember when he last cleaned.

He recognizes the signs of inebriation and lets Jooheon go, not keen on accidentally taking advantage of the boy. He does have some manners. "Are you drunk?"

Jooheon closes his eyes, yawning loudly. "Probably."

Minhyuk pushes himself to his feet and then grabs Jooheon under the armpits to pull him upright too. He struggles with his weight and uncooperative body, but magically manages to move him the few steps to his couch where he deposits him. Jooheon's head lolls to the side as he sits slumped in the corner and Minhyuk sits next to him, tapping his shoulder to make him open his eyes back up lest he falls asleep. "Why did you come all the way over here when you're drunk? Why _are_ you drunk?"

Jooheon pulls his legs up to his chest and pouts, lower lip sticking out. "Wanted to see you."

Minhyuk reaches over to pat Jooheon's beanie-covered head gently, then plucks the beanie off, carelessly throwing it to the floor, and drags his fingers through his matted hair. Jooheon shamelessly leans into the touch. "We saw each other at school yesterday."

"That's different. You don't hang out with me outside of school lately."

Minhyuk thought Jooheon wouldn't have noticed, but thinking again, it's obvious he must have. In the weeks following his birthday, Minhyuk tried to act normal around the younger, but every time they'd be alone he'd become hyperaware of a tension between them and everything the other does: They'd be watching a soccer game together on Minhyuk's couch. During a commercial break Jooheon would turn to Minhyuk to comment on one of the players. Minhyuk would open his mouth to either agree or argue, but no sound would come out. Jooheon would look at him expectantly, lean a bit closer to hear better, absentmindedly wet his lips, and Minhyuk would focus on that tongue and it's slide over his plump bottom lip and forget what they were talking about. Jooheon would prompt him to say something, watching his lips for a sign of movement, and Minhyuk's mouth would go dry and he'd have to lick his own lips and he'd watch Jooheon unconsciously mirror the action— And then the soccer game would come back on and save him.

Or, they would stop for fishcakes at a roadside stall and eat them while walking and when turning onto an empty side street, Jooheon would open his mouth wide — lips red and forming a circle — for Minhyuk to feed him even though he has his own sticks in his hand. Minhyuk would comply and slide the fishcake into his mouth, focusing on the way the other's lips would close around it, and Minhyuk's mind would do a 180, go from innocent fishcake to imagining sliding something else between those lips and he would stumble over his own feet, only snapping out of his thoughts when he'd step into the actual gutter.

Or, they would be walking home from the bus and Jooheon would grab him around the waist to stop him and show him a stray cat and then not let go even as they'd continue walking and all Minhyuk would be able to focus on would be the warmth of Jooheon's arm that he'd feel even through his jacket, and how close they are, how his own arm is pretty much smushed between their bodies. Jooheon would be tired and rest his head against Minhyuk's shoulder and his arm would fall back down to his own side. Their arms would bump against each other until Minhyuk would have no other choice but to drape his own around Jooheon's shoulders and let the younger lean his weight on him. Out of the corner of his eye he'd see the younger bite his lips on a smile and he'd realize Jooheon planned this. But instead of poking the other in the side in retaliation for taking advantage of him, he'd want to take the boy fully into his arms, lift him up and press him against a wall and kiss that smile until neither of them can breathe.

Or, they would be in Jooheon's kitchen, heads together as they whisper commentary about the drama Hoseok's watching in the living room, and Jooheon's hand would come around Minhyuk to settle where his neck meets his shoulder and he'd lean his forehead against the side of Minhyuk's head as he laughs, lips brushing against the older's ear. And Minhyuk's focus would be on Jooheon's fingers brushing against the bare skin of one side of his neck and his lips brushing against his ear on the other side, and he'd excuse himself, tell Jooheon he suddenly remembered about a paper he's got due the next day and leave.

And after that, he would refuse to hang out with Jooheon alone and outside of school. If they're in public, surrounded by people, Jooheon won't get touchy with him and Minhyuk will be able to function.

Jooheon grabs Minhyuk's arm and brings him back to the present. He watches the boy curl up at his side until he looks small and sad and makes Minhyuk's heart ache. He wishes he wasn't the reason for that look — he never intended to hurt him. He distanced himself so he _wouldn't_ hurt him by accidentally doing something he wouldn't like, but of course his good intentions backfired and he ended up hurting the one person he never wanted to hurt.

Jooheon's eyes search his face, vulnerable and shy even though he's been drinking. "Do you not like me anymore? Now when I like you." The boy has barely gotten the words out before he turns his face into Minhyuk's chest, hiding his face. Minhyuk waits for him to say something more, or move, do anything, but after several minutes of silence he feels the younger's body relax completely against his as sleep overtakes him, aided by the alcohol in his system.

Minhyuk, in comparison, is stiff as a board, all his senses acutely aware of the warm body by his side, the hot breath against the base of his throat, the fingers gripping his arm even though their owner is asleep. His mind is whirling a mile a minute, replaying the younger's words over and over again. Jooheon's drunk, he reminds himself. He might not have meant it. And if he did, he might not have meant to say it right now, only did so because the alcohol compelled him to. But if Jooheon does like Minhyuk, whether he meant to tell him or not, then—

What? Is Jooheon going to ask him out? Does he want to do stuff? Hug and kiss and… more. Minhyuk's heart beats erratically at the thought of undressing Jooheon, of Jooheon undressing him, their bare skin pressing together. He doesn't think he'd be able to handle it. And besides, Jooheon's inexperienced, so he wouldn't expect sex right from the start. Right? But what if Jooheon does want to do it and Minhyuk fucks his first time up? What if he scares Jooheon off sex forever, or hurts him? What if he's a bad first boyfriend or Jooheon realizes that he actually doesn't like men after all. What if Jooheon's got this whole romanticized vision of what being in a relationship is supposed to be like — always just rainbows and flowers and puppies on marshmallow clouds — and Minhyuk doesn't live up to the hype so Jooheon leaves him. They're such good friends, what if taking it further ruins everything? What if they realize they're not meant to be together romantically, but it's already too late and they're not able to go back to the way they used to be?

Minhyuk turns to the sleeping boy by his side, taking him in: the slightly opened, small mouth, the color of his lips matching that of his round cheeks, rosy from the alcohol. The pretty hands holding onto Minhyuk's arm even in sleep. There's a smudge — probably from his floor — on his chin, and Minhyuk wets his thumb to wipe it off. As he does so, his hand shakes. His stomach churns uncomfortably with something he can't name. He wipes Jooheon's chin clean, then pries his fingers off his arm and gets up. He hastily throws a blanket over the boy, then plucks it off him just as quickly to properly tuck him in after first situating him more comfortably on the couch. He bends to press a kiss to Jooheon's temple, then grabs his phone and sprints into the bathroom.

His fingers still shake and he misses the call button on his first two tries, finally succeeding on the third. The fingers of his other hand worry his lower lip as he impatiently waits for the person on the other end to pick up.

Kihyun's tired voice coming over the line is so familiar Minhyuk wants to cry as he rasps out a 'what'.

"Kihyun?"

"I hope you're aware this is an international call and international fees apply."

"Kihyun, I-"

Kihyun lets him hesitate for an entire ten seconds. "It's in the middle of the night and you're disturbing my sleep, what do you want that can't be said over a text? Not everyone is as nocturnal as you."

Minhyuk takes a deep breath and starts pacing around the small bathroom, keeping his voice low so as not to wake Jooheon, even though the boy's already deep asleep and probably won't wake easily. "Jooheon confessed to me."

Kihyun's wasting precious money taking thirty seconds to answer. "He what?"

Minhyuk leans his cheek against the cool mirror above the sink, hoping it'll help him calm down. "He said he likes me."

Kihyun stays quiet for another half a minute.

"Kihyun, he—"

"I heard you." There's some rustling coming over the line, as if Kihyun's sat up in bed. "That's good, though, right?"

Minhyuk doesn't answer, anxiously playing with his bottom lip. Before this night, he was sure Jooheon must know he likes him. He's made it pretty obvious since the first day they met, so why does he now think—

"What's wrong?" Kihyun asks, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. Minhyuk doesn't question how, he's just glad for how well his friend can read him even without seeing him.

"He thinks I don't like him."

"Why do you think that?"

Minhyuk pushes off the mirror and sits down on the closed lid of his toilet. "He asked if I don't like him and said he does."

There's some more rustling from Kihyun's end, then the sound of a pair of slippers shuffling over the floor and a fridge door opening. Kihyun pours something into a glass, drinks it. "And?"

Minhyuk pulls at his hair. He wants to scream, but remembers at the last moment to be quiet — Jooheon's right on the other side of the door. "And? Kihyun, Jooheon likes me!"

"So you've told me. Congratulations. Isn't that what you've always wanted? Why are you getting so worked up? You should be celebrating."

Kihyun's not wrong (as much as it pains Minhyuk to admit it). He's not wrong, but— "What happened to _slow_ ? Jooheon's supposed to be innocent — _you_ told me he's innocent! He's not supposed to be coming onto me. Why can't he still be shy and obedient like he used to be? It's going too fast. I can't handle this. Kihyun, I don't know what to _do_."

The slippers go back to the bed, which creaks under Kihyun's weight as he gets settled. "You've been chasing after him for almost a year."

Minhyuk groans pitifully into the phone. "I know!"

"But?"

"But I never planned this far! I never thought he would actually come to like me. And he even thinks I don't like him back."

"So tell him you do."

"What if he decides to give up on me and stops liking me? Kihyun, what if he starts to hate me and wants to break up? What do I do then? I can't handle breaking up with him."

"You're not even together yet."

"Maybe we shouldn't get together. I'm too scared he'll want to break up. We can't break up if we're not together."

"But what if he doesn't want to break up?"

Minhyuk stands and starts pacing around the bathroom again, free hand tugging at a strand of his hair. "Most couples do at some point."

"But not all." There's the sound of Kihyun moving around in his bed, followed by a yawn. "You could either stay as friends forever and not have to worry about breaking up, or you could get together and love each other as much as you want to and worry about the breakup when it happens. _If_ it happens. Look at it from Jooheon's point of view. If he really does like you, do you think he wants you thinking about breaking up with him?"

"Probably not."

"Exactly. Now go to sleep. I'm tired." Kihyun punctuates his sentence with another yawn.

Minhyuk groans deep in his chest and sinks to the floor. "But what am I gonna do?"

"Go to sleep. Wake up. Talk to him. Figure it out together. Goodnight." Kihyun hangs up before Minhyuk has time to answer.

Minhyuk lets his phone drop to his lap. He sits on the cold tiles until a big yawn threatens to dislocate his jaw and pushes tears into his tired eyes. He doesn't know how long he's sat there, nor what time it is, and he doesn't care about checking as he exits the bathroom. He throws a glance in the direction of the couch — Jooheon is fast asleep — then dives under the covers of his bed without turning off the lights or his computer or changing into pajamas. He clutches his pillow to his chest and closes his eyes.

 

Minhyuk wakes up hot and sweaty and with a sore back from his uncomfortable sleeping position. He throws the duvet off his head and breathes in much needed cool air and oxygen. Memories of last night hit him with the weight of seven suns. He takes a moment to imagine himself burning up in the atmosphere of one and turning into dust particles floating forever in space, or perhaps being swallowed up by a black hole, his insides being pressed out of his mouth from the pressure, not unlike the way he's feeling right now. Another ten minutes pass with him staring up at his ceiling and imagining himself setting up a colony on a distant planet in another galaxy, naming his people Minhyukians and baking planet-shaped pizzas topped with interstellar atoms on the surface of his own sun, which he would travel to in his private starship.

The soft sounds of another person's breathing interspersed with snores finally reach him when he tries to remember if all planets have a sun, because he would very much like a sun — both for his pizza-baking needs and because he hates the cold — but maybe sun-less planets are cheaper than those _with_ suns, because doesn't everyone want a sun? Supply and demand, and all that. Pushing thoughts of how much money he has in his bank account (not nearly enough for a planet, nor a spaceship) aside, he peers over at the couch, finding Jooheon still asleep where he left him last night. The boy has stretched out on the couch, one arm dangling off the edge within reach of the monsters living under it, but nothing else has changed. He still looks as lovely as ever, face squished into the couch and hair messy and all.

Minhyuk smothers himself with his pillow until he's managed to swallow down his insides and they've mostly settled back in their right places. His stomach's still churning, but it's from hunger now and, glad to have something to distract himself with, he gets out of bed and tiptoes into his bathroom to quickly wash his face before he raids his fridge. He tries to raid it, in any case. No matter how hungry he is, he doesn't feel like eating mayonnaise topped with gochujang. His morning looks as bleak as the sky outside.

After searching through the rarely-visited corners of cupboards he's forgotten he has, he comes up with a can of tuna, a pack of ramyun, a portion of microwavable instant rice and a packet of popcorn. He moves the popcorn to a more accessible shelf but spreads the rest of the breakfast feast out on his tiny kitchen counter. He finds a pot for the noodles and gets cooking.

Jooheon wakes up to the sound of the microwave beeping, like an alarm clock that also cooks your food. (That would be a better investment than a spaceship. Minhyuk will have to look into the existence of such a machine.) He disappears into the bathroom with eyes half-closed and dried drool on his chin, coming out a while later with skin looking unfairly radiant for a night of drinking followed by sleeping on a couch twice as old as him, and eyes a tiny bit more open. Minhyuk hands him a pair of chopsticks as the boy wordlessly sits down at the table, avoiding Minhyuk's eyes.

Minhyuk can't tell if the younger remembers anything from last night and he's not about to ask because he's a coward and his confidence is a ruse. He hopes food will be a safe topic. "This is all I could find."

Jooheon answers with half-chewed noodles in his mouth and Minhyuk wills himself to find it disgusting and off-putting. He's unsuccessful. "It's fine. Thanks."

Minhyuk helps himself to some noodles too, eyeing Jooheon under his fringe. "Is your head okay? How are you feeling?"

Jooheon doesn't look up as he stuffs his mouth with more ramyun. "I'm fine."

"Do you want painkillers?"

"No."

"Do you have a hangover?"

"No."

Okay. So it seems that either, a) Jooheon remembers confessing, b) he is embarrassed because of it, c) he is grumpy because he's still half asleep, or, d) all of the above. Answer D is the most likely: if Jooheon doesn't have a hangover and doesn't want any painkillers, there's a large chance he didn't drink enough last night to forget anything. Which means he remembers confessing and never getting an answer. Additionally, he still thinks Minhyuk doesn't like him, which makes him more embarrassed over confessing. And, Jooheon's not the brightest person in the mornings in general, which doesn't exactly help his mood now.

"What's wrong?"

Minhyuk doesn't realize he's let out a huge sigh, chopsticks hovering over the pot in the middle of the table, until he finds Jooheon looking at him, a frown on his face.

The younger boy is acting deceptively normal, but Minhyuk notices the way his eyes want to stray away from Minhyuk's, the boy barely managing to keep the contact steady with the combined force of his willpower and stubbornness. The way his ears turn red further convinces Minhyuk that Jooheon does in fact remember everything from last night, but has decided not to bring it up and act like he doesn't. Which is fine with Minhyuk for now. He would need more (or perhaps less) food in his stomach if they were to have that kind of conversation again.

"Just tired," Minhyuk answers, giving Jooheon a small smile that doesn't fully reach his eyes. He pushes the opened can of tuna closer to the boy. He can't be brave and confess right now, but he can at least make sure the boy eats enough. He could also try to repair their friendship, as Jooheon in addition to his confession complained about Minhyuk not hanging out with him lately. Minhyuk honestly misses him too. Today's Sunday and he has no plans. He hopes Jooheon doesn't have any either, so they can spend the day together for the first time in a while. "Wanna go out for lunch later?"

Jooheon's chopsticks hesitate on their way to the rice and his eyes flicker up to Minhyuk's face.

Minhyuk pushes the rice closer to Jooheon. "There's a new place I want to try and… It's been a while?"

Jooheon takes a bite of rice and chews on it, expression thoughtful. "I guess I could. I mean, I don't have anything better to do, so." He swallows, then catches Minhyuk's eye. "Will Hoseok come?"

"Do you want him to?"

Jooheon flushes crimson and dips his head down to shovel rice into his mouth more quickly than he can chew. He tries to say something but it comes out as a wheeze, his neck turning as red as his face as he coughs violently.

Minhyuk hands him a bottle of water and saves him from answering, certain that he knows what Jooheon wants, "Let's just go the two of us."

Jooheon's blush doesn't leave his face for the rest of breakfast.

Minhyuk's not much better off either.

 

Minhyuk takes Jooheon's arm in his and huddles close to him — for warmth, if anyone asks; the late-November air is cold — when they walk to a restaurant Minhyuk found on the internet after frantically googling new, popular restaurants while hiding in the bathroom, Jooheon oblivious as he cleaned up after breakfast. They're quiet for most of the twenty-minute walk, but it's a comfortable quiet and Minhyuk knows they're okay. They're okay like this, both of them pretending last night didn't happen. They're okay, everything's fine, so there's no point in bringing last night up and ruining this okayness.

They get stuck in the door to the restaurant when they both try to enter at the same time. They laugh it off, jokingly shoving at each other and looking like any other pair of good friends. They eat and talk and afterwards, Minhyuk manages to entice Jooheon into having ice cream from the convenience store for dessert. Minhyuk's mouth freezes and his hands nearly fall of when they eat the ice cream outside, but Jooheon's smiling and chatting with him like normal so he doesn't care. The expression on Jooheon's face when he tells Minhyuk a story from his childhood is warm enough to heat him up from the inside out.

 

Minhyuk's eyes fall on a couple passing by. More specifically, his eyes fall on their clasped hands. It's such an easy thing to do, taking someone else's hand in yours and holding it. So why is he having so much trouble getting his brain to tell his hand to grab Jooheon's? It wouldn't even be that weird — they're friends, and they've hugged and even kissed each other on the cheek. That's more intimate, no? Besides, they've sort of held hands before. They've touched each other's hands, at least, but then again Minhyuk's touched pretty much all of Jooheon except his dick, so even if they haven't strictly _held hands_ , that must count for something? He's held Jooheon's ass but the mere thought of taking Jooheon's hand in his and holding it for a prolonged period of time makes him unnecessarily nervous and makes his own hand tingle.

The problem is, he doesn't know how to go about holding the boy's hand. Should he ask for permission first? Should he let Jooheon know what he's about to do? Or just go for it, be a man and grab his hand in his all rough and strong and manly-like? Perhaps do it gently, slide his hand down Jooheon's arm and stop when he gets to his hand and envelop the younger's smaller one in his own? Minhyuk's held plenty of hands in his life, including Kihyun's, Hoseok's and even Changkyun's (Very briefly; the situation made it necessary.), so why is holding Jooheon's hand more difficult than building a spaceship? It's like there's a whole science to it, an equation Minhyuk needs to solve.

"Are you listening to me?"

Minhyuk snaps his head up to meet Jooheon's accusing stare. He nods, although he honestly hadn't been, preoccupied with his own thoughts.

Jooheon rolls his eyes, the corners of his mouth turned down in irritation. "No, you aren't. Why did you even ask if you're not gonna listen?"

"I was listening—"

Jooheon stomps on a frozen-over puddle on the sidewalk, shattering the thin sheet of ice. "No, you weren't even looking at me. You haven't paid attention to me ever since I got out of class. Don't feel obliged to hang out with me when you clearly don't want to. I'm capable of walking to the library on my own."

Jooheon stalks off in another direction without looking where he's going, nearly getting himself run over by a scooter. Minhyuk thanks his quick reflexes as he grabs the boy by the hand, pulling him back to safety by his side just in time. He possibly gave Jooheon whiplash or a dislocated shoulder in the process, but that's what he deserves being reckless like that. He bows slightly in apology to the disgruntled scooter driver, then turns to Jooheon, who's looking rather sheepish. "Be careful."

Jooheon doesn't answer.

Minhyuk lets him sulk in peace and strides off in the direction of the library, secretly pleased to notice Jooheon following him and not going off on his own again. It's only when he feels a hand squeeze his and hears Jooheon's meek wish for him to slow down that he notices they're still holding hands. They're both wearing gloves but they're _holding hands_ and Minhyuk stops so abruptly at the realization that Jooheon bumps into his back.

"I didn't tell you to stop, just slow down a bit," Jooheon says and steps next to Minhyuk, free hand rubbing at his nose. "You never listen."

"Sorry." Minhyuk touches his own free hand to the other's nose, glove and all. "Does it hurt?"

"It's fine." Jooheon pushes his hand out of his face and looks down at the sidewalk. Minhyuk can't see his ears as they're hidden under his beanie, but he can imagine them reddening as Jooheon says, so quietly that Minhyuk nearly misses it, "Are you walking me to the library or not?"

Minhyuk grins at him and swings their joined hands between them, resuming the much-too-short walk. Jooheon falls into step beside him and while he refuses to look at the older, Minhyuk spots a tiny, satisfied smile twitching on his lips and making his dimples appear.

 

Minhyuk's not good at math, but he knows he has many problems, even if the hand holding one has been solved. He still hasn't mustered up the courage to address What Happened That Night or confess to Jooheon. Jooheon hasn't brought it up either and while the first days after were a bit rocky as they stepped on unsure ground, tiptoed around each other, they've successfully moved past the initial okayness and entered a state of normalcy, a ceasefire. The matter of The Confession(s) and it's related problems, like what to do if they actually get together and become boyfriends, will have to be discussed between the affected parties sooner or later, but it's been temporarily set aside in order to concentrate on another, more pressing, problem: finals.

Minhyuk usually doesn't worry too much about exams and stuff, but this time around, all his professors seem to have come to some sort of mutual agreement to give him hell, demanding he writes both final assignments and studies for exams for every class. This caused Minhyuk's next, and currently biggest, problem: he's turning into Changkyun. The Stressed About Exams version of Changkyun.

"Ramyun, anyone?"

Minhyuk doesn't even look up at the pot of noodles Hoseok sets down on the coffee table. He blindly reaches for those notes he knows he put somewhere over there, and burns his arm as he knocks it on the steaming pot. He frowns at it in annoyance, then locates his notes and forgets about the burn.

"You should put your arm under cold water," Hoseok says, voice worried at his lack of reaction. Minhyuk doesn't have time to do that right now, though. Maybe later.

He reaches for a highlighter but retreats as Changkyun's hiss lets him known he's ventured too far into the younger's territory. Minhyuk fumbles through his pencil case for another one when a hand suddenly grabs his arm and presses an ice pack to the reddish area of his inner wrist. He shoots Jooheon a grateful smile, but he really needs to get on with his studying. When he tries to take his arm back, the younger holds it steady in his grip.

"Keep still. And you should eat something. You haven't eaten all day."

Minhyuk gives up struggling and lets himself concentrate on the feel of Jooheon's fingers on his skin for a minute. He lets himself indulge in this short break — eating, on the other hand, takes too long. "It's okay now. It wasn't a serious burn and my arm's getting cold."

Jooheon removes the ice pack to inspect his arm, the whole area that had been covered by the pack now red from the cold. He strokes his fingers lightly over the thin skin of Minhyuk's inner wrist, a simple action that feels more intimate than it reasonably should. "Are you sure?"

Minhyuk pulls his arm out of his grip and places it in his lap, clearing his throat. "It's fine." He ignores Jooheon's look of doubt and goes back to his book, forces himself to focus on the words on the page and forget the lingering touch of Jooheon's fingers.

Jooheon gets up to go return the ice pack to the freezer and Minhyuk manages to continue reading his book, even when the doorbell rings a while later, loud in the near-silence of the apartment. Someone opens the door, says something to person on the other side, goes into the kitchen, then comes back and taps on Minhyuk's shoulder.

"Let's eat."

Minhyuk swats Jooheon's hand away like he would a fly. "I'm not hungry."

Jooheon doesn't let himself be deterred. He roughly grabs Minhyuk by the arm and pulls him stumbling to his feet with strength the blond didn't know he had. He doesn't let go of Minhyuk until he has pushed him down on a kitchen chair.

Minhyuk thought he wasn't hungry, but as Jooheon opens the newly-delivered pizza box on the table, the heavenly scent wafting out and surrounding Minhyuk in all its cheesy glory, he realizes that maybe he _is_ a bit hungry. He reaches inside for a slice and then another and by the fifth he's ready to admit that perhaps he was kind of starving. Jooheon hands him a can of coke and that's when he realizes the boy is still in the room with him, a fond look in his eyes as he watches him eat from the other side of the table, chin in his palm.

Minhyuk frowns at the single slice of pizza left in the box. "Sorry, did you also want to eat?"

Jooheon shakes his head. "I ate earlier. I'm just taking a break now. It's good to do that sometimes, you know."

Minhyuk checks the time on the clock on the wall. It's already ticking close to 8 PM. This is the first time he's taken a break other than going to the bathroom in twelve hours. Finals start in two days and even though he's spent all his free time the past week studying, he's still got so much to do. He runs a frustrated hand through his hair, cringing at how greasy it is and wondering when he last washed it. He looks at the clock again, wondering how much time he's wasted eating—

"It's only been fifteen minutes," Jooheon says, as if reading his mind. "Just rest for another fifteen."

"But—"

"No buts." Jooheon pushes the pizza box closer. "And eat the last slice." Minhyuk pouts at him in a try to make him change his mind and let him go back to studying, but Jooheon is determined. "Do I need to feed you?"

It's not a bad idea, but Minhyuk doesn't need any more distractions (Jooheon feeding him would certainly be one) so he reaches for the pizza himself and stuffs it into his mouth. Jooheon gives him a happy grin, then gets up and for a moment Minhyuk thinks he'll leave him alone. The boy comes around to Minhyuk's side of the table then and stands behind him, putting his hands on his shoulders. Minhyuk tenses under his touch.

"Relax," Jooheon says, starting to massage him, kneading his thumbs into the back of Minhyuk's stiff neck. It feels good and he lets his eyes slip closed, getting lost in the feeling. He's unaware of time passing, starting when he hears Jooheon's voice in his ear telling him his break is over. He's unwilling to move, but he knows he has to get back to studying. He leaves the boy in the kitchen and goes back to the living room, his return only noticed by Hoseok.

A minute later, Jooheon returns too, a plate of kimbap in one hand and chopsticks in the other. He sits cross-legged next to Changkyun and starts feeding him one piece at a time, the black-haired boy eating as if on autopilot, never looking up from his book. Minhyuk's grateful Jooheon's taking care of them despite having his own finals to study for. He'll have to make it up to him after it is all over.

 

Minhyuk rubs his eyes as he rereads the same paragraph for the fifth time, still not comprehending a word. It's only him and Changkyun left now; Hoseok went to his room a while — hours? — ago, and Jooheon—

The room is suddenly plunged into darkness.

"It's midnight. Everyone go to bed."

"I can't see. Turn on the lights." Changkyun's voice is tired, but he's also not ready to give in to sleep just yet, if the way Minhyuk can hear him turn the pages of his book even in the dark is anything to go by.

The lights come back on and then Jooheon's stomping over to Changkyun, ripping his textbook out of his hands.

"Give that back or so help me," Changkyun says and lunges at Jooheon. The table is between them and he doesn't reach, slumping to the surface tiredly. At this time of night, after a whole day of studying, even Changkyun is all bark and no bite.

"Go to bed you two," Jooheon says. "You can continue in the morning."

Changkyun's voice is muffled by the wood of the table, his face slowly merging with the surface. "No, I need to finish this chapter."

"You've been falling asleep for the past hour. Come on." Jooheon walks around the table and grabs the boy under his arms, pulling him the short distance to the couch and helping him lie down on it. Changkyun's already nearly asleep by the time Jooheon's fetched a blanket to cover him in. The brunette then turns to Minhyuk, who's hovering somewhere on the fine line between Dreamland and the Land of the Awake. "You too, go to bed."

Minhyuk looks at Changkyun on the couch. Even though the boy is small, he takes up all of it. "Where?"

Jooheon turns in a circle as if in search of a nook or cranny big enough for him to stow Minhyuk in for the night. It appears he only now realizes the dilemma of fitting four people in two beds and one couch.

"I can go home."

"No. You're coming back in the morning anyway. It'll only be a waste of time." Jooheon glances in the direction of his room. "Do you— You could— My bed?"

"Then where would you sleep?"

The boy flushes and turns his eyes to an interesting spot on the floor. "It'd be a bit cramped, but I don't mind…" He glances briefly at Minhyuk, whose breath gets caught in his throat.

It's one of his dream scenarios (Is he dreaming? Maybe he fell asleep studying? He pinches his arm. It hurts.) but now that he's presented with it in real life he doesn't know how to act. How many times has he fantasized about sleeping with Jooheon — even just lying next to him in bed? Too numerous to count. However, now that he's presented with a chance to make his dream come true, he's panicking. He's got a ticket for a one-way trip to Mars but he's afraid to take it; the life awaiting him at the end of it could be everything he's ever dreamed of and more. Or, the whole trip could end in disaster. Does he take the ticket for a chance to experience something new and amazing or does he stay on earth with the safety of the normalcy he knows?

He mumbles something about having to take a shower and then sprints into the bathroom, leaving a confused and red-faced Jooheon in his wake.

He does take a shower, washing his hair with the first shampoo he finds and then just standing under the spray, not noticing the water has turned cold until his teeth start chattering. When he's toweling himself off, there's a knock on the door and then Jooheon's voice letting him know there's change of clothes for him outside the door.

When Minhyuk exits, freshly showered and clad in Jooheon's soft sweats and shirt, the lights are off. The door to Jooheon's room is cracked open, spilling light into the living room and inviting Minhyuk, inviting him on that trip to Mars. He steels himself outside the door before lightly knocking and stepping inside, closing it behind himself with a soft click.

Jooheon's lying in bed, tapping on his phone, but scrambles to sit up when he sees Minhyuk. "You never said if you wanted to sleep here, but I got you a pillow."

Minhyuk's eyes fall on the two pillows placed very close together on the bed. Not that there's another choice — after all, the bed is meant for one person. He knew they'd be sleeping near each other, but actually seeing how near makes Minhyuk pause inside the door. Jooheon's watching his every move, clearly as nervous as him, and as Minhyuk takes the few steps to the bed, first a look of relief flashes over the boy's features and then one of panic as he scoots closer to the wall, to make as much room for Minhyuk as possible.

Minhyuk lifts the covers to get into the bed, then remembers the lights and drops it back down to go turn them off. The result is a pitch blackness. Luckily, he knows the layout of the room well enough that he makes it back to the bed without incident. Crawling into bed and settling into a comfortable position without touching Jooheon, on the other hand, is impossible. After the tenth time he accidentally elbows Jooheon in the side or kicks his shin when he's trying hard to be careful — Jooheon's grunts in return telling him he's anything but — he stops saying sorry and accepts that his plan of not touching the other at all throughout the night isn't feasible. He settles on his side and searches for Jooheon waist under the duvet, pulling him closer when he finds it so the boy won't have to sleep pressed up against the cold wall. The younger doesn't resist, thrusting a leg between Minhyuk's and letting out a contented sigh that caresses Minhyuk's face due to their proximity.

Minhyuk thinks it'll take an eternity for him to fall asleep, but he blinks and there's light in the room, the rising sun's weak rays illuminating the white walls, signaling a new day. He's warm and cozy, and there's an arm slung over his waist, a mouth snoring in his ear. His first reaction is to pull Jooheon closer and go back to sleep. The next one, as he remembers about finals and how much he still has left to do, is to panic.

Before he can do either thing, the door swings open and Changkyun bursts into the room. Mischievous eyes land on Minhyuk. "Rise and shine!" The boy waggles his eyebrows at him, lips stretching wide into a sly grin, then turns on his heel and slams the door closed, causing Jooheon to wake with a start.

Jooheon groans his complaint into his pillow. He slides his arm off Minhyuk and pushes himself up, then flops back down and relaxes into the bed as if he gave up on waking up. He gets a few deep breaths in before he shoots up into a sitting position, almost pushing Minhyuk off the bed with the force of it all.

"Good morning," Minhyuk says.

After Jooheon's gotten over the initial shock of finding Minhyuk in his bed, his cheeks turn rosy as he gazes shyly at him. In the bright light of day, he's not as brave as he was last night. "You probably need to study."

"Yeah." Minhyuk does need to get up and start studying, but the longer he lies still in the boy's unfairly comfortable bed the more aware he becomes of Jooheon's scent clinging to both the sheets surrounding him and the body an arms length away. Of the way Jooheon is still soft and pliant with sleep, his hair a mess begging Minhyuk to run his fingers through it. Of the way the boy's shirt has twisted on his body and revealed his collarbone, daring Minhyuk to lick it. Of the way the younger's teeth are gnawing on his bottom lip, tempting Minhyuk to do the same.

He really should get up and go study lest he throws himself at Jooheon and prevents him from ever leaving the bed again. He really should and he will, right after he's run his hand through Jooheon's soft hair. To fix it, obviously. He only manages to mess it up more. Jooheon ducks his head and hides his smile behind the duvet, presenting the top of his head to Minhyuk, who cannot resist leaning closer and pressing a kiss to it.

The blond jumps out of bed after that, unreasonable embarrassed, and doesn't even check for Jooheon's reaction as he sprints into the living room, where he's met with Changkyun, a knowing smirk on his lips. "Don't say anything. There was nowhere else for me to sleep."

"I didn't say anything."

"I can see you thinking. Don't think."

"I think, therefore I am. Do you want me not to be?"

Minhyuk's gearing up for a comeback when the front door opens and Hoseok walks in, back from an early morning run and oblivious to what happened in the most recent episode of What Happened Last Night & The Morning After. "Morning. What's up?"

Changkyun grins. "Jooheon and Minhyuk—"

Minhyuk throws a sock at him. It hits him in the face. His grin transfers to Minhyuk's face. "We just woke up and I'm going to start studying now."

Hoseok looks between the two of them, head cocked to the side. He observes their silent staring match for a minute, then shrugs and leaves them alone to go take a shower.

The moment the bathroom door closes, Changkyun's got Minhyuk's sock in his hand and his arm raised in aim. Minhyuk ducks at the last second, snickering at Changkyun's miss until he feels a presence behind himself and turns around. He is met with Jooheon's displeased frown, the sock lying by his feet. Minhyuk picks it up and shields the younger with his body, then hurls the sock at Changkyun in retaliation; how dare that boy throw a sock at Jooheon?

Changkyun's prepared more ammunition while Minhyuk was occupied with his defense, and the boy pelts him with his own socks as well as Minhyuk's. The war is on!

Minhyuk tugs his second sock off his foot, then makes Jooheon relinquish his pair. Changkyun's one-man army hides behind the couch when Minhyuk fires, peeking out only long enough to gather the socks from the floor and attack. Minhyuk and Jooheon's army is bigger and stronger, though, and they've soon got the boy surrounded and yelling surrender as Minhyuk threatens to stuff a sock in Changkyun's mouth while Jooheon holds him down.

Hoseok comes out of the bathroom looking even more confused than he was before his shower.

 

Minhyuk forces another fake smile on his face as the nth happy couple of the day orders their overly-sweet, overly-chocolatey, 2000-calorie, whipped cream-topped, fudge-sprinkled monstrosities. With an extra sprinkle of Christmas Joy, on the house. He chuckles with the couple as they laugh at his joke and they are oh-so-blissful on this magical day filled with the warmth of the holidays despite the temperature outside being close to freezing. Like Minhyuk's heart. The couple moves along to the waiting area and Minhyuk plasters a new, bright smile on his face to serve the next one in the endless line of couples out for a date and deciding to grace his humble coffee shop with their loving presence and rub it in his face that he couldn't get out of work, because apparently he's one of the only single employees and his manager wanted to give the day off to those who actually have a significant other to spend the day with. Minhyuk wanted to argue that if he only got the day off, he _would_ have had another person to go on a sort-of-date with and that they might even become a _significant_ other person by the end of the day, but the manager had already decided Minhyuk had to work on Christmas Eve without even consulting him—

"An americano, please."

Oh, thank you, Santa, for gifting him with this one sensible customer of the day. Minhyuk doesn't even have to fake his smile as he looks up. It grows even wider when he's met with Jooheon's dimples smiling back at him, the boy's face framed by a thick, woolen scarf wrapped around his neck and a beanie pulled low over his head. The boy hadn't mentioned any plans of stopping by, as they'd agreed on meeting up when Minhyuk's shift ends at 6 PM, but he's not about to complain. He punches the order into the machine. "What are you doing here?"

"I got bored waiting for you."

"You'll still have to wait. My shift doesn't end for another hour."

"It's more fun to wait here."

Minhyuk looks out over the crowded tables filled with couples holding hands and taking photos of each other and giggling with heads close together as they sip their Christmas specials. He's unable to keep the envy out of his voice and the pout off his mouth as he turns back to Jooheon. "This place is filled with couples."

"We can be single together." A flush blooms across Jooheon's cheeks and he turns away to move over to the waiting area to pick up his drink, not sparing Minhyuk another glance.

The next couple in line comes up to the counter to order, but Minhyuk tells them to wait a second and hurries over to the display of cakes. He gets a piece of tiramisu and almost knocks down his colleague in his haste to get it to Jooheon before the boy sits down at a table.

"On the house," he says, setting the cake before the boy, who lights up at the sight of it.

His colleague approaches with Jooheon's americano then and Minhyuk takes it out of her hands before she can hand it to the boy. He grabs a sharpie from his apron pocket and scribbles 'I get out at 6' on the side of the cup, before handing it to Jooheon with a wink. It's corny and cliche but so are the holidays and it makes Jooheon blush when he reads it even though he already very well knew at what time Minhyuk gets off work.

Minhyuk's in a significantly better mood for the last hour of his shift than he'd been earlier, and it's all thanks to Jooheon, who found himself — on purpose or not — a table in Minhyuk's direct line of sight. In between every sugar-loving, cinnamon-craving, what's-the-most-Christmasy-drink-you-have couple, Minhyuk can recharge his batteries by looking at Jooheon — looking sweeter than sugar in the pink knit sweater Minhyuk got him for his birthday — and return his focus to the next couple in line with a genuine smile. He even finds himself humming along to the Christmas carols that have been on repeat (and driving him crazy) nonstop for the past several weeks. When the clock strikes 6, he throws his santa hat in the air, shouts a 'Merry Christmas' at the coffee shop customers and his colleagues and skips into the employee-only area.

 

"How did finals go?" Jooheon asks, as they stroll through the streets near the coffee shop side by side. He stops Minhyuk with a hand to his elbow and points at an outrageous neon Santa decorating a store window. Jooheon drops his hand when they continue along, so Minhyuk grabs his arm in his instead. Being Christmas, there are way more people out than on a normal Monday night, so he doesn't want to risk Jooheon getting separated from him.

"I survived. Barely." Last week had been the worst week in Minhyuk's college career so far, and he'd lost more sleep than is healthy as he slaved away over assignments and tried to study a the same time. He nearly fell asleep in his last exam on Friday, and when he came home after he went straight to bed and didn't wake up until Saturday night. But finals are done and over with and winter vacation has begun and he gets to spend the Eve with Jooheon so he couldn't be happier. "What about you? Any plans for winter break now that your first year of uni is over?"

Jooheon hums in contemplation, then stops by a street vendor selling roasted sweet potatoes. Licking his lips, he raises an eyebrow at Minhyuk, who nods in response to his unspoken question. Jooheon pays for two steaming potatoes, hands one to Minhyuk, and then pulls him over to the side, out of the way of the stream of people.

They have to take their gloves off to peel the skin and Minhyuk burns his fingers getting caught up in watching Jooheon struggle, blowing at his hot potato and moving it from hand to hand in a try to cool it down and avoid burning his hands. Minhyuk still manages to finish peeling first, and he holds his potato out at Jooheon, a fond smile playing on his lips as the boy jerks his head up in surprise. The younger doesn't need much urging to take a bite, though, happily digging in and immediately struggling again as the potato burns his mouth.

Somewhere between trying to chew and cool the sweet potato down by huffing out breaths in little puffs, Jooheon remembers Minhyuk's previous question. "Not really," he says, his words somewhat hard to interpret due to his mouth being full of the hot snack, "Changkyun's taking winter classes."

"The nerd." Minhyuk takes a bite too, small so he won't struggle so much but also so it'll leave more for him to feed Jooheon with.

The younger swallows with difficulty and fans his hand in front of his wide-open mouth. "I asked him why and he said Kihyun said he should." He resumes the peeling of his own sweet potato, a bit easier now that it's been left to cool a couple of minutes.

Minhyuk laughs. "And he listened?"

Jooheon gives him a look. "It's Changkyun we're talking about. He, like, worships him. Did you know they've been Skyping every week?"

Minhyuk puts a hand to his heart, mock-offended. "And Kihyun barely takes time to answer my texts!"

Jooheon holds his potato up to Minhyuk's mouth for him to take a bite. Minhyuk happily does, accidentally taking too big of a bite which leaves him struggling with the steaming snack like Jooheon did earlier. Jooheon laughs at him, so Minhyuk stuffs his own potato into his mouth in retaliation and Jooheon's forced to bite a large chunk off it.

They chew noisily with their mouths open, mannerless and disgusting, but neither of them care, grinning at each other despite their struggles. They finish their potatoes in silence, feeding each other every other bite, then get going again.

"Changkyun said that Kihyun asked him about you," Jooheon says, a smirk on his lips. Minhyuk nods at him to continue. "He wondered if you're eating properly without him here to take care of you."

Minhyuk rolls his eyes, even though one tiny part of him is secretly touched that his friend cares enough about him to ask. "I'm a fully functioning adult. I can take care of myself."

"Which is why you're always crying into my fridge over the lack of home cooked food and asking when Kihyun's coming back."

"I don't cry!"

Jooheon raises an eyebrow at him. "You're overly dramatic about it."

"As if you don't miss some real meals sometimes."

Jooheon shrugs. "No one's stopping you from cooking."

"My lack of skill does."

"It was pretty good when you cooked that one time."

Minhyuk bumps Jooheon's shoulder with his own. "You're only saying that to be nice. Changkyun said it was awful."

The younger shakes his head, pouting as he rubs his shoulder as if it hurt. "He ate all the leftovers the next day when he came over."

"Really?"

Jooheon laughs at his excitement. "He told me not to tell you."

"That brat." A fond smile slips onto Minhyuk's lips. (He immediately erases it. Him, smiling while thinking of Changkyun? Never.) They approach a bus stop that's on the route going past Minhyuk's building. "Wanna come over? I can cook for you."

"I'm not sure I wanna risk it on Christmas."

"I can order take-out and pretend I cooked it."

"I think that's a better idea, yes."

 

Minhyuk would be perfectly content just relaxing on the couch and watching Jooheon the entire time they wait for their food to arrive, but he figures the younger wouldn't like that as much and, as the host of their two-person party, it's his job to provide his guest with entertainment. He switches the TV on, conveniently to a channel that has just started playing _Home Alone_ (A Christmas classic Minhyuk normally wouldn't miss, but this year he's got Jooheon to watch instead, and he always finds him infinitely more interesting than any movie.) and leaves it at that.

Jooheon doesn't complain, watching with rapt interest, both eyes and mouth smiling. His hair is lying flat against his head from having been pressed down by his beanie earlier and Minhyuk reaches over to fluff it up, afterward slinging his arm casually around the younger's shoulders and letting it rest there. The pink sweater is soft under his hand and he smiles to himself, happy Jooheon decided to wear Minhyuk's gift for Christmas.

"Did you know Changkyun can imitate Kevin's scream?" Jooheon asks suddenly, turning to Minhyuk.

Minhyuk thinks that on any other day, he'd make Jooheon imitate Kevin too, or make a joke about Changkyun the Nerd watching actual movies, but on this day he can't be bothered, not right now. Maybe it's the magic of Christmas, maybe it's the way Jooheon's fringe falls in his eyes, maybe it's the softness of his skin under Minhyuk's fingertips as he brushes the strands aside, or maybe it's just Jooheon himself, looking so warm and cozy in that sweater, eyes bright and focused on Minhyuk and lips inviting and pink.

They're already close, but Minhyuk leans closer, presses his lips against Jooheon's. Gently, easily, like he's done it a thousand times before. Jooheon sucks in a breath that reminds Minhyuk that they _haven't_ , in fact, done this a thousand times before and he draws back an inch, just enough to be able to see the younger's face. Shock and surprise are warring for dominance in Jooheon's expression, but at least he doesn't look repulsed. Minhyuk gives him a moment to make sense of his feelings, watching intently as a flush settles almost belatedly on the boy's cheeks, a timid hand coming up to lightly touch his own lips.

Jooheon, one time after having had a couple of drinks, confessed to Kihyun — Minhyuk overheard, sitting on Jooheon's other side — that he's never been kissed. Knowing firsthand that first kisses can, if unlucky, be a somewhat unpleasant experience or at least not as amazing as movies make them seem, Minhyuk's glad that he seems to have succeeded in making Jooheon's an okay one. He tilts his head a bit for a better angle, ready to go in for another one as long as Jooheon gives him his permission, something he receives in the way the boy squeezes his eyes shut in preparation, cheeks flaming red. Minhyuk takes another moment to just look at him, finally moving back in when the doorbell goes off, scaring them both and making them jump apart.

Inwardly screaming at the awful timing of the delivery man, Minhyuk gets up to open the door and get their food. He returns to the couch after he's paid and drops the containers down on the coffee table, opening them one after the other. Jooheon helps but avoids direct eye contact, all his blood gathered in his face, which must lead to a shortage of blood in his other body parts and cause him to fumble with his chopsticks and miss his mouth several times when he eats. Minhyuk has to get up to greet two other delivery men, but after that they both sit silently on the couch for the remainder of the movie, eating and watching Kevin and the burglars.

The credits roll but neither of them move. Another movie comes on but they sit still. Minhyuk rolls his thumbs, the clock ticks, somewhere in the world it's already Christmas Day.

"So," Minhyuk says. Jooheon glances over from where he's sitting half a meter away. Half a meter _too far_ away. "Christmas Eve, huh?"

Jooheon hums in response.

Minhyuk nods.

Riveting conversation. Absolutely riveting. Where's his eloquence when he needs it?

Jooheon's cheeks have mostly gone back to their original hue, but he's gnawing on his bottom lip, turning it puffy and red. Minhyuk feels a need to replace his teeth with his own.

He scoots closer until his thigh is flush against Jooheon's and their shoulders bumping. He doesn't take his eyes off the other's face, waiting for the younger to eventually meet his gaze. He pulls Jooheon's bottom lip out of his mouth with his index finger, causing the younger's cheeks to darken again, but he doesn't look away, not until Minhyuk leans in again and his eyes slip closed, inviting him.

It takes couple of dry, close-mouthed kisses before Jooheon relaxes enough to respond, Minhyuk slipping a steadying hand behind his neck, the other sliding down his arm and settling on his waist. Jooheon's hands, shy and inexperienced, first rest lightly on Minhyuk's chest until he grows bolder and he winds his arms around Minhyuk's neck, pulling him closer and keeping him there. Minhyuk turns in his seat, folding one leg under himself and swinging the other over Jooheon's knee. It gives him a better angle to work with and Jooheon doesn't complain — rather, he melts into the couch as Minhyuk deepens the kiss, hand massaging his side. One of Jooheon's hands slide back down to Minhyuk's chest, fingertips lightly trailing over his shirt in a way that's bordering on ticklish, shy but eager to explore.

The younger adjusts his position on the couch, turning towards Minhyuk, the hand on his chest moving to stroke up his neck and caress his cheek and Minhyuk loses himself in his touch. Jooheon feels so good, he can't get enough of his touch, can't get enough of the warm skin he finds above his jeans as he pushes his hand under his sweater. Minhyuk's reluctant to even to pull away to let them both catch their breath every now and then, always diving right back in to get more, cupping Jooheon's jaw to turn it the way he wants it and the boy lets him, content to let him lead and show him the way. It's obvious the boy's new to this, but that doesn't make Minhyuk enjoy it less. Just feeling Jooheon's lips on his, soft and wet and responsive, is enough for Minhyuk to float away to Mars. Add Jooheon's body under his hands to that and Minhyuk's in orbit to Jupiter. Add Jooheon's tongue into the mix and Minhyuk's skating along Saturn's rings. Throw in some quiet whines and deep groans and Minhyuk's preparing to enter the atmosphere of Uranus.

Minhyuk has to pull away for a moment to reign himself and his libido in. He's getting way ahead of himself and he's not planning on doing anything other than kiss the boy tonight — his brain needs to convince his body of that too. Jooheon's breathing hard, eyes closed and cheeks rosy and Minhyuk lets him slump against the couch. After a while the boy opens his eyes and looks at Minhyuk, still shy but with a hint of confidence, like he knows exactly how he makes Minhyuk feel. Minhyuk dives back in to wipe that smirk off his face, to show the boy that it takes more than some kisses to reduce Minhyuk to a whimpering mess. He presses the boy's shoulders against the back of the couch on impulse and belatedly worries if he was too rough, went too far for their first time, but Jooheon pulls him in by the back of his neck and Minhyuk forgets everything but the taste of his lips, the smoothness of his skin, and the fingers in his hair.

 

The moment the door closes behind Jooheon (after another long kiss goodbye), Minhyuk flies across his room to land face-down on his bed, squealing into his pillow like a teenage girl whose crush finally noticed her in school. He turns his head just enough to be able to touch a careful finger to his lips, still tingling with the ghost of Jooheon's pair. His smile threatens to break his jaw in two and he resumes his squealing.

Some time later, he fumbles for his phone on his nightstand and makes himself comfortable in bed. He dials Kihyun's number, not bothering to check the time, and imagines his hair is a phone cord as he twirls it around a finger.

Kihyun answers with a sigh.

"Merry Christmas!"

An annoyed groan, then, "It would be a much merrier Christmas if you didn't wake me up in the middle of the night."

Minhyuk giggles, unable to control himself.

"Is this funny to you?" There's a distinct threat in Kihyun's voice, but Minhyuk pays it no heed.

Minhyuk giggles, again. "I did a thing."

There's a muffled sound away from the phone that Minhyuk thinks is Kihyun screaming in frustration into his pillow. After a few moments he's back, his voice carefully calm and collected. "Seriously? If you thing-ed of such urgency that you need to wake me up — and waste international calling fees in the process — to tell me, you'd be better off directly turning yourself in to the police, as that'll give you a more lenient sentence than if I'm the one to report you."

"I kissed Jooheon."

There's a loud clatter, a curse, and then the telltale beeps of the call ending.

A second later, Minhyuk's phone rings and he picks up, holding the device back up to his ear just in time to have it fall off at Kihyun's screech, all traces of sleep gone from his deafening voice,

"You did what?"

Minhyuk holds the phone away from his ear until the ringing in it subsides, then slowly brings it back after he makes sure the coast is clear and his friend won't give him hearing loss. "I kissed him. And he kissed me back. Kihyun, we kissed and it was amazing! It was perfect. He's so— so— _dreamy_. I felt like I was dreaming. I'm not dreaming, am I? Did I dream this whole thing? Kihyun, please tell me I'm not—"

"You're not." Kihyun has reined in his shock and gone for a pretend bored, but his voice is excited almost, as excited as Kihyun can let himself be over his best friend finally getting to kiss his crush.

Minhyuk giggles, then squeals a bit more into his pillow.

"Where is he now? He's not there with you, is he?"

Minhyuk clears his throat to answer — it's getting a bit sore. "No, he went home. I wouldn't have minded him staying, but we thought a sleepover this early in the relationship would be going a bit too fast."

"Relationship?"

Minhyuk giggles, for the nth time. He twirls his hair as he turns on his back to stare up at his ceiling, recalling _that_ moment from earlier in the night. "We're a _thing_ now."

Minhyuk can hear Kihyun trying hard to keep the excitement out of his voice, keep it neutral. "So you finally asked him to be your boyfriend?"

Minhyuk pulls the pillow out from under his head to smother his face with is as he squeals into it, yet again. " _He_ asked _me_."

"Really?"

Minhyuk's 'yeah' in response is breathless.

"It really is a merry Christmas for you then."

Jooheon's flushed cheeks as he stuttered over his words flashes through Minhyuk's mind and he grins. "It couldn't be merrier. It was the best Christmas present ever."

Kihyun hums. "I never thought he would be the one to ask."

"Yeah, but now I get to propose to him. If we're taking turns. Like, I kiss first, he asks me out, I propose, he asks me to move in."

"You're gonna propose before you live together?"

"I don't know. We haven't planned that far yet."

"Perhaps you should plan you first date before you plan your proposal."

"That's a good idea. I didn't know you were that romantic."

"I'm realistic."

"So am I."

Kihyun laughs. "Last time you called me you were scared of getting together with him because you thought he'd break up with you."

"That was then. Now that I have him there's no way I'll let him break up with me. Besides, he was the one who asked."

"How possessive of you."

Minhyuk hugs his pillow to his chest, imagining it's Jooheon. Since he can't have the real thing right now, he has to pretend. "I don't care. He's mine now. I'm never letting him go. When I'm old and on my deathbed and haven't been able to talk for ten years, I'll still say his name as I take my last breath. I'll have 'Here lies Minhyuk, lover of Jooheon' put on my gravestone."

"You're an obsessive, possessive stalker."

"And yet he likes me."

Kihyun audibly sighs into the phone. "Why are you always so optimistic?"

"It's my best trait, oh pessimistic one."

Another sigh, coupled with an eye roll Minhyuk can _hear_ . "Your _only_ good trait."

"It's one good trait more than you have."

"I'm hanging up."

"Do that."

"You're not gonna stop me?"

"No, I want to sleep and dream about Jooheon. Bye. Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christm—"

Minhyuk ends the call and tosses his phone to the side, smiling at nothing as he closes his eyes and his brain instantly provides him with images of Jooheon eating, talking, smiling, breathing, existing. Kissing him. He squeals into his pillow one last time before he lets himself enter dreamland, hoping to meet Jooheon there.

 

Minhyuk ushers Jooheon into a crowded coffee shop and they get in line behind several other couples out for a Christmas Day date. The air smells of coffee, of cinnamon, of love, and life is good! Minhyuk orders a giant coffee that consist of more chocolate, whipped cream and fudge than actual coffee, but it's delicious and so are Jooheon's lips when he kisses the boy's whipped cream mustache off him. They're being disgustingly lovey-dovey and Minhyuk couldn't care less when they walk down a decorated street, swinging their connected hands between them.

In the night they go to Jooheon's to eat dinner with Hoseok and Changkyun, who have already set the table with delicacies befitting the holidays when they arrive. Jooheon looks at all the food, his stomach rumbling at the sight, and licks his lips in anticipation. Minhyuk looks at Jooheon, feeling another kind of hunger, and also licks his lips. Jooheon watches him do it and takes a step closer to him. Minhyuk trails a hand up Jooheon's back and the younger takes his attention completely off the food. Minhyuk bites his bottom lip and Jooheon ignores Hoseok calling for them to come and eat, pulling Minhyuk by the hand to his room for an appetizer.

Food: 3 — Minhyuk: 1

 

<<<<>>>>


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